Specialty Design Consulting

This is the Kind of crap you get from the MORONS AT FACEBOOK after reporting an inappropriate comment from one of the phony accounts, in this case Caroline Garza:
I've move this off the post because I don't want to desecrate it any more than this scumbag already has.
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Today at 3:32 PM
We didn't remove the profile
To keep our review process as fair as possible, we use the same set of Community Standards to review all reports.
We've taken a look and found that the profile doesn't go against our Community Standards.
We understand that this might be upsetting so we recommend exploring the options available to control what you see.
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(I did that & was ignored as usual!)
So Facebook is saying that "in all fairness" unscrupulous spammers should be able to open a fake account, desecrate a memorial post, harvest the names of those giving their respects, then tagging them in a spam comment linked to a deceptive web site.
GREAT STANDARDS!

MUGWNY Thursday October 21
IBM. Chef's.
Be there!

MS 2015: "Windows 10 is the last version, we'll just keep updating it as necessary"
MS 2021: "Here comes Windows 11".
Get ready for the next step: Windows 365, no more OS downloads

Microsoft gets Windows 11 ready for release with new build Microsoft has moved Windows 11 to the Windows Insider 'Release' channel in anticipation of its upcoming launch on October 5th.

Current status of MUGWNY...........
* Plans being laid out for our 2021 end-of-year party
* Plans for September 2021: preliminary plans for our 1st face to face meeting in over 1-1/2 years
Details coming soon.

mugwny.org /index.html February 23, 2021 at 12:00 PM: Plans are finalized for this rescheduled virtual meeting, titled: "Rethink Your Storage Refresh" featuring Don Lind of IBM  (details & bio below)

Coming up: September 24, 2020
Location: Italian Village @ 6pm
Speaker: Steve Fier of IBM (Virtual)
The Topic: Power9 G and Cloud
Description: Steve will be doing a virtual presentation for our group.
Take the survey & Register at http://www.mugwny.org

www.mugwny.org /index.html Location: Italian Village @ 6pm Speaker: Steve Fier of IBM (Virtual) The Topic: Power9 G and Cloud Description: Steve will be doing a virtual presentation for our group

Finally, end of an era. Only affects OEM's. Updates & minimal support will still be available for end users with 32 bit machines. (for now)

RIP: Microsoft to drop support for Windows 10 on 32-bit systems Microsoft has stated that future versions of Windows 10, starting with the May 2020 Update, will no longer be available as 32-bit builds on new OEM computers.

FTC Refunds Victims of Office Depot Tech Support Scam The FTC has begun to issue refunds to people who were convinced into purchasing computer repair services at Office Depot based on fake malware scans.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 Screens Are Spontaneously Cracking Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 owners are reporting that their laptop screens are spontaneously cracking without being dropped, hit, or otherwise used out of the ordinary.

Time for MUGWNY 1st meeting of 2020!
Please join us on February 20th at the Italian Village in Depew!
Visit http://www.mugwny.org for info & registration

www.mugwny.org /index.html When people think about Db2 Web Query they might be thinking it's just another report writer or BI tool. Which it certainly is, but it really is much more than that - it is a STRATEGY for providing a set of tools to leverage IBM i and Db2 for i for analytics. Whether you're wanting to keep the analy...

If you've been holding off....Now might be the time

Windows 7 Reminder: Get a Free Windows 10 Upgrade While You Can With the Windows 7 end of life fast approaching, users need to decide whether they want to upgrade them to Windows 10 or get a new PC. For now, users can still use a method to upgrade their Windows 7 machines to Windows 10 for free. It is not known how long this method will work, though, so users sh...

Specialty Design Consulting updated their website address.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Thanks Microsoft! We're glad to see that you can't even load a clean install anymore without being REQUIRED to create or log into a Microsoft account!! Most people & companies have no use for your spam-filled accounts, opting for LOCAL accounts which we are able to fully control.
We have, of course, found ways around it, but shouldn't HAVE to.
Stop the CR*P & put a local account option back in the install file!

Join MUGWNY This Thursday!

MUG meeting coming up-April 18th

Look out! Windows 10 version 1903 code name Redstone 5 due in September!

BleepingComputer

Here we go again, more corrupt "fixes" on the way!

Intel paid a $100,000 reward to researchers for Spectre 1.1

FacexWorm Spreads via Facebook Messenger, Malicious Chrome Extension

bleepingcomputer.com Facebook, Chrome, and cryptocurrency users should be on the lookout for a new malware strain named FacexWorm that infects victims for the purpose of stealing passwords, stealing cryptocurrency funds, running cryptojacking scripts, and spamming Facebook users.

Site list

List of 1239 sites that actively or passively record everything you do (ie keystrokes, mouse movements, form filling, etc.)
Full list available below

What do you think they are going to do with this data when they are given the freedom afforded to them by the repeal of the net neutrality act?

Data is sent, mostly in unsecure manners, to various analytics dashboards, which anyone with access or capable of intercepting, can replay the
session thereby capturing sensitive data.
Below is a short list of some of the most recognizable of those sites:
Sample Sites that are confirmed as actively recording you're every move:
1. hp com (Hewlett Packard)
2. comcast net & .com
3. costco com
4. symantec com & norton com
5. lenovo com
6. intel com
7. experian com
8. kaspersky com
9. disneystore com
10. xfinity com
11. gap com
12. autodesk com
13. t-mobile com
14. sky com
15. fandango com
16. eset com
17. petco com
18. com
19. logitech com
20. adidas com

webtransparency.cs.princeton.edu In a recent study we analyzed seven “session replay” services and revealed how they exfiltrate sensitive user data. Here we release the data behind our study, specifically, the list of websites from the Alexa top 1 million which embed scripts from analytics providers that offer session recording ser...

Hopefully this is not premature, but after 2 days so far, the new Firefox Quantum (57.0) is much quicker as advertised & more stable than the last several versions. They also appear to be making an effort to work with developers to get the extensions & plug-ins converted. I have all of mine back except for 3 & the new "legacy extensions" list helps you find replacements or rewritten extensions. A few nice new features, especially the flexibility in customizing the menus & toolbar

*Microsoft Windows 10 Fall Creator riddled with Wi-Fi problems*

Among a score of installation issues, including freezing, update not completing or incomplete, easily the most annoying is Wi-FI networking issues once the update is finally successful.

Problems with Wi-Fi persistently cutting in & out, drivers no longer functioning with no new drivers available, among the most prevalent. There are enough search engine entries to corroborate the issues.

Main question? What could MS be thinking to release software to the public with internet accessibility questionable? I think it's a gross understatement that most companies, businesses & individuals DEPEND on the internet now-a-days & reliable connections to it. It's not enough that there are a number of deficiencies in equipment & providers, but the very company most responsible for creating that dependency puts out software with defective connectivity?

Lets face it, Windows 10 has had some network issues since the beginning on many installations & devices, isn't it about time they cut the cr*p and fix it instead of forcing techs to spend hours, sometimes, coming up with fixes & workarounds?

Because Everybody Loves Cortana on Windows, Microsoft Is Adding It to Skype

In case anyone is wondering, Cortana is a piece of cr*p that MS rolled out about 5 years before it's ready & forced users to live with it. A simple search algorithm that once existed was eliminated & now with windows 10, search only finds about 10% of files on your disk. You can partially hide Cortana, partially disable it, but NOT replace it or uninstall it. It is NOT intuitive, as advertised & just make searching a task. Now we have to go out & get a 3rd party search app in order to find anything on our disks.

bleepingcomputer.com Microsoft announced on Monday that it started rolling out Cortana integration in Skype, bringing its smart AI-based virtual assistant to the company's instant messaging client.

Hackers Can Use Ultrasounds to Take Control of Alexa, Siri, Cortana, Others

Something to think about

bleepingcomputer.com Six scientists from Zhejiang University in China have discovered that they could use ultrasound frequencies — inaudible to human ears — to send commands to speech recognition software and take over devices such as smartphones, smart home assistants, or even cars.

Mozilla Will Kill Legacy Firefox Add-Ons in Exactly Three Months

bleepingcomputer.com On November 14 Mozilla will take the biggest gamble in its long history when the organization will ship Firefox 57, the first version of its browser that will stop supporting legacy Firefox add-ons.

Adobe to Kill Flash Media Player in 2020

www.bleepingcomputer.com In joint announcements with Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla, Adobe announced today plans to stop supporting the Adobe Flash Media Player in 2020.

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Care to see what real 'class' is, in the world of programs & apps?

Excerpts:
"Since I'm getting asked about this on regular basis, there is no donation button on this page.
The main reason is that I feel that the donation system doesn't actually help software development and worse, can be guilt-inducing for users who choose not to donate."

"Finally the fact that I have the freedom to develop Free Software in my spare time should indicate that I'm well-off enough, and therefore that you should direct your generosity towards people who need it a lot more than I do."

You can read the entire context here:
https://rufus.akeo.ie/

rufus.akeo.ie Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc.

RoboForm Password Manager

Who doesn't like a good giveaway!

The thing is - if a free giveaway seems too good to be true, it most likely is. Take a minute to review this article from Inc. Magazine, and learn six helpful ways to determine if an offer is illegitimate.

Malwarebytes going to battle with PUPs and Adware

www.bleepingcomputer.com Today, Marcin Kleczynski, the Chief Executive Officer of Malwarebytes, announced in a blog post that Malwarebytes is going to battle with PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and thus the companies that make them.  

HP accused of Sabotaging Non-HP Ink Cartridges

Not surprising. This type of integrity (or lack thereof) has been HP's MO for quite some time, now, pretty much paralleling the arrival of Meg Whitman. The same type of lack of integrity & lack of respect for customers as she exhibited at EBay.
I have been recommending & will continue to recommend alternate manufacturers.

www.bleepingcomputer.com 123inkt, a Dutch reseller of printer ink cartridges, has accused HP of intentionally sabotaging non-HP ink cartridges via a failure date, pre-programmed in the firmware of some HP laser ink printers.