James'Techblog

Viruses are annoying, often misdiagnosed and some are hard to find. Like Viruses in the body, computer viruses are seemingly invisible and self replicating. Viruses are encompassed in the term Malware , however, malware isn’t always a virus, it can cover anything from Spyware , PUP and Rootkits . While not all malware is the same, it is important to stay vigilant in your routine maintenance and security on vulnerable systems, because each one brings its own bad behavior. Whether you’re a technician or an average computer user, here are some tips on how to deal with the threat and stay safe, also a list of common infections. Malware, as previously mentioned, often encompasses many different types of infections. These infections each do something different, but the end goal is usually similar. Some malware relies on other malware that it downloads from another server after having been installed, other malware is just a carrier of something even worse already packed inside it

 An article on thehackernews confirms Windows 10’s newest update brings Keeper password manager which apparently steals users’ passwords. The app is one of many apps that are possibly being installed in secret, forcefully upon a user’s system without them even getting an alert. This package doesn’t install with system updates, but Microsoft does suggest it. Obviously, Microsoft thought it was a good idea to press their affiliated apps upon people now, because making money through bing and Windows 10 purchases isn’t doing it for them. Apparently the app hasn’t been updated in a year either. A researcher from the Chromium project recently analyzed the app and found that a critical flaw different from one that he himself reported finding in an associated plugin over six months ago. As of right now, I would strongly urge users to not try using the password manager anymore and if you haven’t already, refrain from doing so. However, there does seem to have been an update released on t

Overclocking one’s computer is often the cheapest and most fiscally sound way to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to PC hardware. In the computer world, retrofitting things, engineering new ways of doing things, these are often encouraged, however, when it comes to overclocking to get a small amount of extra speed out of an aging PC, you probably would be better off just saving for a few years and getting a newer model of CPU, RAM and even Graphics card. On legacy hardware, it is sometimes impossible to even find the settings in the BIOS to do it. Often times, to overclock a PC, custom BIOS are used to achieve this. Overclocking the hardware is normally done in small increments and is usually stopped when the right balance is found between hardware overclocking and throttling is found. Usually the one overclocking the machine knows what he/she is doing and they realize that overclocking could not only void their warranty, but also could reduce hardware life. Another

Windows ME, a.k.a Windows Millenial, was a Microsoft operating system released in late 2000. It was a continuation of the model started by 95 and 98. Windows ME came  a year later than Windows 98 SE or Second Edition which really didn’t bring a lot of noticeable changes to the desktop, while Windows ME is bit of a revamp in some areas as we’ll see. Windows 2000 was released several months before, but it has little to do with ME, 2000 was more server related and for Enterprise. Windows ME did get some system sounds from 2000 though. Windows ME was one of the first iteration of Windows OS to come with an automatic update feature. Windows ME’s desktop came with enhancements derived from 2000 and Windows ME was supposed to eventually move from the old 9x kernel to a NT kernel, however, this never happened so the whole thing was rushed and the next year saw a completely new OS in Windows XP. Other important changes from the era of Windows ME were updated built-in applications and she

In a recent congressional meeting today to decide the fate of Net Neutrality based on what some believe a rush proposal by the FCC, it was decided that Net Neutrality should be repealed. Assuming all goes according to FCC's diabolical plan, Thursday may see the end of Net Neutrality rules. Certain big websites attempted to make their voices heard on the issue, but it seems this attempt was futile. It would seem that the main supporters of this new plan are mostly Republican. In an article by Ars Technica, the FCC plans to repeal Net Neutrality rules in order to allow ISP's all rights and access to any and everyone's personal data and internet traffic. In short, this would give ISP's the right to throttle and or block certain traffic they deem to be unsavory such as torrenting and other services. Not that it is any business of Comcast what I surf the web for, but it will also give them disclosure on some sites you visit and allow them free reign to pick and choose the b

Epiphany was an open source browser started for the gnome project. It utilizes the gnome desktop heavily and works best within the gnome environment. That’s not to say it doesn’t work outside of gnome, as it does run relatively well on xfce and others. Epiphany was gnome’s answer for alternative and lightweight browser solution and it was added to Raspbian in 2014 and was given the term as being Raspberry Pi’s very own browser. Before it was added to Raspbian, the ARM operating system didn’t really have acceptable choices in terms of web browsers. Most web browsers were either lacking or were too sluggish and bloated to serve the said ARM devices. Raspberry Pi previously used Midori by default, but Midori is often unpredictable now as it has not been updated in almost two or three years now. Epiphany was elected to change all of that. Epiphany was touted as bringing a host of features that Midori and other browsers didn’t really offer. It was equally based on Webkit as w

Aibo, the robotic dog sold thousands online at its first inception back in 1999. Aibo sold out quickly, but as production continued, the consumers’ interest waned because of such a hefty price tag. The new and improved Aibo is said to come with artificial intelligence and can learn new tricks just like a real dog. The robotic dog is cute, adorable even, but the price tag is still bigger than the dog is. Aibo has downloadable extensions to its personality from an online store, but the owner must sign off on the downloads first. The robotic dog is said to be eager to learn what makes the owner happiest and to continue performing these functions on a daily basis. Aibo could be a great new addition to anyone’s home if he/she likes small dogs and wanted one but certain restrictions such as terms of lease and other situations prevent one from owning a living dog of their own. Aibo is set at a whopping $1,740 price tag, but with the newest upgrades, it is expected to make bank this ye

Vivaldi Technologies, a company based in Norway, is the company behind the Vivaldi browser. The Vivaldi browser was built with Power users, or technology enthusiasts in mind. It has all the features of Chrome, Firefox, and others with a little something extra. The browser is best suited for people who know what they want, how they want it. Vivaldi started out with a Tech Preview and since its beginning has ran more like a stable release. The browser was meant to replace Opera legacy. It was built in the wake of changes in Opera Software, the changes that Jon Von Tetzchner, didn’t agree with. He was mad after Opera shut down their old community website and he felt that Opera the browser was no more, he felt that the company sold out and so he left Opera and reopened the community site and started to form Vivaldi. Vivaldi has more built in features than you might really think is necessary, however, where they are heading, these features will come in handy. Vivaldi is an unfinished

Qupzilla, a browser started and maintained by one man, David Rosca(nowrep), is a C++ Qt toolkit based browser for Linux, Mac, and Windows. This browser is very light and fast. It loads in mere seconds on my machine and it is considered low-end. Qupzilla started as a learning project, a project to show David that he could create a stable, usable browser for himself. The browser was first released in 2010 and written in Python, but after a few versions, it was rewritten in C++ to better adhere to web standards and to take advantage of Microsoft C++ compiler. Qupzilla has all the features you’d expect in a modern browser, it has tabs, history, bookmarks, even a built in, on by default, adblocker. The adblocker defaults to only using the Easy List, but more can be added. Qupzilla is at 2.2.2 version number with QT 5.10 of the QtWebEngine, on most systems, mine currently still uses 5.9.3 in Manjaro. Qupzilla is perfect for notebooks with a feasible amount of memory and weaker cpu and

What is a keylogger? A keylogger is any software that actively monitors keystrokes on a device, a keyboard. A keylogger then has the potential to send that information back to a server somewhere. Recently a seemingly inactive keylogger was found inside of most recent models of HP devices. If you recall, back in May, there was a keylogger found in audio drivers as well, but this time it was found more directly in keyboard drivers. An update was issued to try to remove the keylogging code, but this could tarnish HP’s credibility. HP has been around since before the beginning of the Internet, a company so old and so trusted at making computers could do no wrong right? Wrong! If we turn our eyes from HP alone, back in 2014, Lenovo was accused of bundling Superfish software with its PCs and laptops. The Superfish company was originally a software development company founded in Israel, but residing in Palo Alto, California. In 2015 the company further included a signed certificate with