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Jan 30 2015

6 New Things We Learned About Windows 10

TechNorms: If you haven’t been tinkering around with the Windows 10 Technical Preview, or have followed along with us tech bloggers covering it, you know that it’s been a frustrating and somewhat harrowing experience.

The Windows 10 Consumer Preview Event however, has put me at ease that Microsoft understands that Windows 10 has to be different. While we didn’t see as much of Windows 10 as I would’ve liked at the event, we saw enough to see that Microsoft has a bold mission for the future of the OS.

Let’s look at the major announcements and what this means for Windows 10 as we get closer and closer to seeing a final version of the most used OS in the world.

6 Things Windows 10 Will Bring us

Free Upgrade for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 Users

The first thing to know about Windows 10 is that will, in fact, be free for all Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users who upgrade within the first year. This was initially confusing at first, because Microsoft didn’t address – and still hasn’t in many ways – what will happen after that first year. What happens if you wait to upgrade has yet to be addressed but Microsoft says that once you upgrade, you will have access to patches and updates to keep the OS current through the lifetime of your device.

By offering a free year to consumers still using Windows 7, 8 and 8.1, this pretty much captures the majority of Windows users. The word free helps, too. I expect to see a spike of upgrades in the first few months, especially among 8/8.1 users. After that, it’ll be interesting to see what the price point is and if that still encourages users to give Windows 10 a try.

Windows 10 Start Menu Full Screen Mode

We finally saw a good look of the Windows 10 Start Menu and its options. The Windows 10 Start Menu still looks like it did in the Windows 10 Technical Preview but now you can use it in regular and full screen mode.

For those of us who like Windows 8 and use a touchscreen PC, this is wonderful news and still gives us a sort of Start Screen to use like what we’ve grown used to. For those who don’t want to use it, you don’t have to, but the choice is now yours, something Microsoft took away in Windows 8/8.1.

Continuum

Continuum, as of now, will only work on two-in-one devices, such as tablets like the Surface Pro 3. It’ll let you go back and forth between Windows 10 modes seamlessly, making it easier to use Windows 10 the way it was intended from device-to-device.

This will make it easy to go from keyboard to touch and back again. For those who use two-in-one devices, this is a great way to stay productive and efficient when going about your day. However, we didn’t see anything really new about Continuum, other than it still being part of the Windows 10 experience. It will be interesting to see how it evolves till the time the final version of Windows 10 hits the market.

Cortana Integration

While Microsoft had been hinting for months about bringing Cortana to Windows 10, they finally confirmed it at the event. Cortana will function similar to Google Now on PCs, being fully integrated into the taskbar and utilizing voice commands for users. At the moment, Cortana in Windows 10 will still utilize Bing for results, which may not always garner the best results for consumers looking for places to eat, mapping locations and performing search queries.

However, as was shown during the event, Cortana has been tweaked in many ways for the PC to make it stronger. It’ll be able to find files across all access points on your computer, along with OneDrive. Joe Belfiore tested several queries out at the event to showcase just what Cortana can do on a PC that it can’t quite do on mobile devices, yet. You’ll also be able to tell Cortana what to do for you, such as launching apps, muting sound and more.

Spartan Pre-Loaded

It appears Spartan will come pre-loaded on Windows 10 PCs and devices, allowing users to skirt away from using IE. There’s no word on whether IE will be gone completely, if Spartan is replacing IE, or if you’ll be able to download a standalone version of IE updated for Windows 10 usage.

Spartan, however, will come fully loaded with voice support, note taking capabilities that allow you to write in the browser if you’re using a touchscreen, and will take advantage of Reading Mode in Windows 8 to make reading on the Web better. Cortana will also integrate into Spartan, allowing you to perform queries through it.

Universal Windows Apps

Universal Windows Apps are part of the Windows platform now, so you’ll want to get used to it. However, Microsoft is working to make these apps truly universal, so that when you go from device-to-PC or vice versa, it’s a better transition.

Office, Photos, OneDrive and Skype are two such apps they demonstrated at the event, and the results are pretty impressive so far. There’s no telling how many Universal Windows Apps will launch with Windows 10 but this is a good thing for consumers.

Conclusion

Until we get our hands on the Windows 10 Consumer Preview, or the Technical Preview is updated to include some of the above, it’s hard to tell how practical and well integrated some of the new features and functionality in Windows 10 will work for consumers.

It’s clear Microsoft understands now the errors, especially when it came to public relations, with Windows 8/8.1 and is looking to correct them with Windows 10. Offering it for free for a year certainly helps.

Jan 26 2015

It’s Back – Cryptowall Ransomware Strikes Again

What is Cryptowall 2 Ransomware?

Bob Rankin: Making regular backups of critical data and keeping your software up to date is more important than ever thanks to the arrival of new, “improved” malware like Cryptowall 2. This update to a well-known ransomware exploit is making life miserable for business and personal computer users worldwide. Here’s what you need to know…

Making regular backups of critical data and keeping your software up to date is more important than ever thanks to the arrival of new, “improved” malware like Cryptowall 2. This update to a well-known ransomware exploit is making life miserable for business and personal computer users worldwide. Here’s what you need to know…

Last summer, authorities busted the cybercriminals behind the CryptoLocker virus, and shut down that threat. But a new variant called Cryptowall 2 has emerged from the dark corners of the Internet.

Like its predecessor, Cryptowall 2 encrypts everything on an infected hard drive and displays a “ransom note” to the hapless user. The extortion is simple: pay several hundred dollars by a specified deadline or you’ll never get the key that unlocks your encrypted data. The payment method is anything but simple for the typical victim.

Cryptowall 2 is elaborately designed to avoid detection by security software and to conceal the identities and locations of its masters. Part of this stealth strategy is to require ransom payment in Bitcoin, the virtual crypto-currency. Most citizens and even IT geeks have no clue how to get Bitcoin; even if you know, converting real currency into Bitcoin is not convenient or fast.

Victims first have to locate an online Bitcoin currency exchange, then apply for an account. The exchanges conduct “background checks” to protect their dubious users from law enforcement agents. Approval can take days during which one’s computer (or an entire company network) is less useful than a flower pot.

Another barrier to paying is Cryptowall 2’s complicated instructions for using the Tor proxy network to connect to the attacker(s)’ site and make the payment. Victims must download and install the Tor browser (a copy of which may well be hosted by the attacker(s) and infected with more malware), then follow a link through the often-unreliable Tor network to the attacker(s)’ site. If the connection fails, victims must try later.

As if that isn’t enough, a Cryptowall 3 version appeared in recent days. Its only “improvement” seems to be the addition of the Invisible Internet Project (I2P) proxy network to the things that can go wrong with a payment attempt. The payment link provided by Cryptowall runs a victim through several Tor proxies and then hands the connection off to I2P, which has its own ways of failing.

Is There Any Guarantee?

If a victim jumps through all of these hoops and pays the ransom there is no guarantee that the key to unlock the encrypted data will be delivered. So far, the bad guys have honored their end of the deal, presumably because not doing so would quickly become well-known and ransom payments would dry up. But if anything should happen to the bad guys – like a sudden police raid – those who pay the ransom will never see a key.

The best way to deal with Cryptowall is to avoid it at all costs. That means keeping your defenses up on all fronts. Think before you click on unknown links or email attachments. Keep your operating system and application software up to date with security patches. Use a comprehensive internet security suite that watches for things like Cryptowall in email, Web, external storage devices, and every other vector by which malware can enter your system.

The only thing I’d recommend as an extra layer of protection is a little program called CryptoPrevent, which modifies some Windows settings to prevent infection by Cryptolocker and related malware. Note that there are both Free and Premium versions of CryptoPrevent.And of course, if you have a full system backup available, you needn’t worry about CryptoWhatever ransomware, even if it does manage to slip past your defenses. Instead of paying the $500 or $1000 ransom, you’ll just fire up your backup software, and restore everything from your most recent backup. If you’re not making backups, you might be SOL [my edit].

But all is not lost! Call us and we’ll install the fixes to prevent this from happening on your machines……

Dec 24 2014

Turn Your Webcam Off & On – The Easy Way

Webcam Security Simplified

Webcams are wonderful devices. They are great for everything from business conferencing and staying in touch with friends and family. But in this new crazy world of hackers and crackers, it is important to have options at our fingertips to control our webcam’s security and to bring some peace-of-mind to those

DavesComputerTips: Here’s an even simpler method, especially convenient for those who tend to be regularly switching between using the webcam and not – it’s a little portable freeware called “Webcam On-Off”. No prizes for originality there but plenty of kudos for providing a very quick and simple method for switching a webcam off and on.

Webcam On-Off is a small 328KB zip download (scans 100% clean through Virus Total). Simply extract the files and then double click the extracted executable to run the software:

As you can see from the screenshot: the software reports the current status of the webcam and provides the user with a simple one-click operation to either Disable or Enable the webcam. I believe ‘Webcam On-Off’ utilizes the same Device Manager method, only direct via command line.

Webcam On-Off is just my sort of software; free, portable, small, and effective. My kind of webcam software.

Check out Webcam On-Off and download direct from the developer here: Webcam On-Off Home Page.

Dec 22 2014

Use Google to send large files

Google makes sending large files easy

Our digital life has grown exponentially. Our files are sometimes huge and we need to share them. Most email services limit their email file attachment sizw to 25mg. And that can be to small if we need to send over that special hi-res picture of you doing that flaming shot over at TJ McStufflebees. How to send it? Super-easy these days thanks to Google;s Gmail.

Here’s a quick and easy tutorial [thanks to How to Geek] on how to share those super-big, super-important files with anyone. And not just those in your Gmail contact list.

Google announced that it too would add the option to use Google Drive when you are sending emails with attachments on Gmail. The feature has just been enabled on my account and I’d like to walk you through the process. Note that I’m using the new compose window and not the old one.

To start click on the compose button at the upper right corner of the screen. The new compose window should come up. The bottom bar that begins with the send button lists the attachment icon. Hover over it to see available options.

Select the “Insert file using Drive” option with a left-click. An overlay window appears that you can use for the process. The left sidebar displays various locations that you can use to pick files including files from the local computer system, files that are already on Google Drive, shared, starred or recently selected files.

If you want to select files from your local computer you can either use drag and drop to push them into the window or the file browser. Once your are done with the selection you can hit the upload button to upload the files to Google Drive.

Please note that you can only select one option at a time, so that you may need to open the interface twice if you need to upload files from the local PC and pick some files that are already on Google Drive.

You can then start filling out the email as usual. The files are checked for their access rights when you click on send, and you may get the following screen if the recipient does not have the proper rights to access them.

The default selection is to let the recipients view the files. You can modify the right so that recipients can comment or edit instead. A click on more options displays additional information that are important:

Anyone with a link means that even non-recipients can open the files if they have the link. The advantage here is that a Google account is not required to access the files

Recipients of this email – recipients must have a Google account. This protects the files from being accessed by unauthorized users.

The links in the recipient’s email lead directly to Google Docs where they can either be accessed directly if you have selected the “anyone with a link” option, or after logging in to a Google account.

Remember that most cloud services offer some sort of file sharing. Check with your cloud account to see how they do it.