John Lister

Microsoft has warned users not to install the latest major update by anything other than the automated process. Methods such as downloading the update onto USB drives or DVDs could cause significant problems thanks to a bug. The issue affects the ... Windows 10 October 2020 Update, also known as 20H2 (version 2009, and build 19042). This is officially the second major update this year. It's currently available automatically through Windows Update, though is being gradually released to different people at different times rather than sent out to everyone at once. Officially that's to avoid ... (view more)

A mobile broadband service that uses low-orbit satellites to reach areas with neither fixed-line or cellular service is proving a hit with some early testers. Starlink is the work of the private company SpaceX, better known for running commercial ... delivery services to the International Space Station. The company plans to eventually launch more than 40,000 miniature satellites which will orbit at around half the distance from the Earth as most satellites. The idea is to be able to offer service anywhere in the world with users simply connecting to satellites as they pass overhead. (Source: ... (view more)

Apple is reportedly working on its own search engine and may ditch its reliance on Google. The Apple tool could be pitched on the idea of increased user privacy. At the moment, Apple devices such as iPhones and software such as the Safari browser ... usually runs searches through Google by default. That's not just because Apple think it's the best search engine, but because Google pays Apple an annual fee reported to be in the region of $10 billion to be the default. (Source: ft.com ) That payment may be under threat with regulators looking into claims that such deals perpetuate an unfair ... (view more)

Zoom is to completely encrypt video calls at all times for most users. It will mean neither Zoom itself nor law enforcement agents or security services can access the content of calls. At the moment, Zoom encrypts the data that flows between ... individual participants on a call. However, it's Zoom's own servers which generate the encryption key issued to each participant. That means it's technically possible for Zoom to decrypt calls. While Zoom insists it's never had any intention of doing so, it does leave it open to pressure or legal threats from law enforcement officials to get access to ... (view more)

Microsoft is doing its level best to kill off Internet Explorer. Users of the browser will soon find many key websites automatically open in the Edge browser instead. There hasn't been a new edition of Internet Explorer since 2013 and it's ... understandable many people would think it had died out altogether with Microsoft putting all its efforts into Edge instead. However, Statcounter estimates that more than 2.5 percent of desktop and laptop computers are running Internet Explorer. It's harder to estimate the total number of computers, but it's plausible the number of people using Internet ... (view more)

Two ad-blocking Chrome extensions have been removed from distribution after they were altered to collect user data. People who've already installed Nano Adblocker and Nano Defender should now remove the tools. Instructions for removal are near the ... end of the article. Both Nano Adblocker and Nano Defender started out as legitimate extensions which users could integrate into the Chrome browser to block ads. They had a combined total of 250,000 downloads, and ironically that success seems to be what ended up causing the problems. New Owners Manipulate Extension The original developer sold the ... (view more)

A couple have reportedly named their daughter after an Internet company in return for 18 years of free mobile broadband. Perhaps fortunately the girl now only has "Twifia" as a middle name. The couple took up a promotional offer from Swiss company ... Twifi. It made the offer to any parents who named their child with Twifia or Twifius. It's not clear why the offer covers these variations rather than the brand name itself. The deal requires a parent to upload a photograph of the birth certificate with one of the names on it and await verification. They will then get 18 years of service for the ... (view more)

Microsoft has added links to Office web apps on Windows 10 computers without asking permission. It's more of an irritation than a damaging problem, but it's certainly safe to say some folks are irritated. The links appear to have been added by an ... automatic update, with some users reporting their computer restarted without warning and they lost some work that hadn't been saved. (Users can set Windows 10 to only restart automatically at set times such as during the night to stop this happening.) The links appear in the Start Menu alongside other apps as a single tile that contains several small ... (view more)

Microsoft is to warn Windows 10 users when an app will start up automatically when they start their computer. The move is designed to prevent the start up process being slowed down against the user's wishes. Users already have the ability to ... manually decide whether an app starts up automatically when they switch on their computer. The change is to the way apps are set when they are originally installed. Which apps should start up automatically is a balancing act. With some it's important to start up automatically for functionality purposes, such as having anti-malware software running right ... (view more)

Microsoft says it has disrupted "one of the world's most persistent malware operations." The action against "Trickbot" reportedly involved working with the US military. Trickbot is a botnet , created by infecting computers with malware then ... hijacking and combining their resources for further malicious activity. The operators largely built it using bogus emails that tricked users into opening a file attachment or clicking a link that downloaded and installed malware. The uses of Trickbot have included stealing login details such as online banking credentials; accessing sensitive data; and ... (view more)