Windows 10

[DejaMoo]

The programs that my social worker uses is XP only. they can't upgrade, and these are commercial programs.

I had a brother working for GE, and they had the same issue: GE's in-house software worked on XP, period. That was GE's decision. Same as their decision not to install end-user anti-virus/anti-malware software, leading to entire offices getting infected and losing days of productivity, because GE didn't have in-house IT support and required infected pcs to be shipped to an out-of-state third-party contractor to clean up and return. In the meantime, workers played cards or twiddled their thumbs.

That's the private sector showing us how it's done, you betcha.

Zeke wrote:

Cheaper? Not even close to the cost the commercially available stuff. They were charging us $100 an hour to reinvent the wheel. They'd write a program that would run on XP, for example, but the programs were never Microsoft Windows compliant. Many programs used the browser as the interface. When Microsoft upgraded Internet Explorer the programs wouldn't run. We were stuck with an obsolete operating system and web browser.

And I work in an environment where we pay huge sums to a commercial developer for their software, which they, along with nearly everyone else, have designed to be browser-based, because that puts the load on the user's computer, not the third-party's network. Except that they can't keep up with the pace of browser updates, and they can't make it compatible for every browser in use out there. Internally, we can require staff to use the recommended browser, but our outside users (general public) use whatever OS and browser they're accustomed to using. And then we get trouble tickets and angry complaints.

That's our main system. We deliver a variety of content on a huge number of platforms to our users, and every single platform has its issues, again complicated by the fact that the ways and means of accessing and using content found online are endless. There simply can't be a one-size-fits-all solution.

My coworkers and I (who handle the endless influx of trouble tickets) call that Job Security.

Incidentally, the state of MN DMV rolled out a new system this past summer. As expected, they ran into a lot of issues for the first several weeks of the rollout. Actually, the problems have continued, but the bulk of them now are concentrated in end-user offices where they have a slow internet connection and/or using old, slow hardware or/or using the wrong web browser. Turns out about a third of the local offices that handle DMV stuff are privately owned, so it's on them if they don't update their hardware/use the wrong browser. And if they're located in the boondocks and have a lousy internet connection, they're hosed whether it's a state, municipal, or private office.

[RTH10260]

Emergency Windows Meltdown patch locks some AMD PCs into endless loop
After installing the update users say their PCs are unable to boot and eventually get stuck in an endless loop, as they try to roll back to an earlier version of the OS.

By Nick Heath | January 8, 2018, 3:48 AM PST

A Windows patch to reduce the risk from exploits for the Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws is reportedly causing problems PCs with older AMD processors.

The recent update, KB4056892, seems to be causing problems for computers running on Athlon X2 processors.

Despite being older machines, the CPUs date from about the mid-to-late 2000s, users say their PCs were running Windows 10 without issue before installing the update.

After installing the update users say their PCs are unable to boot and eventually get stuck in an endless loop, as they try to roll back to an earlier version of the OS.

Some users report they were able to block the update by using the Hide/Show troubleshooter, as outlined here, but Microsoft is yet to provide official guidance for affected users.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/em ... d=22009505

[NotaPerson]

Emergency Windows Meltdown patch locks some AMD PCs into endless loop
After installing the update users say their PCs are unable to boot and eventually get stuck in an endless loop, as they try to roll back to an earlier version of the OS.

That headline damn near gave me a heart attack. Fortunately my AMD processor is one of the newer ones.

[RTH10260]

Windows 10: Now you can see every bit of data Microsoft harvests from your PC
The Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer was made available yesterday to those testing early builds of Windows 10 under the Windows Insider program.

By Nick Heath | January 25, 2018, 4:32 AM PST

Microsoft has revealed an app that lets Windows 10 users see exactly what data it's collecting from their PCs.

The Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer was made available yesterday to users testing early builds of Windows 10 under the Windows Insider program.

The viewer lets Windows 10 PC admins examine the data sent to Microsoft by the Universal Telemetry Client, something that was previously only possible in the Windows 10 Enterprise Edition.

The update is part of an ongoing effort by Microsoft to address concerns about the amount of data collected by Windows 10, with European regulators even threatening enforcement action over the issue. Since that action was threatened Microsoft has made a number of changes, including introducing a dashboard that makes it simpler to toggle privacy settings and reducing the amount of data it collects from non-Windows 10 Enterprise users.


https://www.techrepublic.com/article/wi ... m-your-pc/

[Reality Check]

Recently two of my desktop running Windows 10 came down with some kind of virus that infected Firefox Quantum. It hijacked My Yahoo, which is one of my home tabs, and threw up a big red warning page with a voice saying that my PC had been infected and to call some 855 number. I didn't of course. Firefox would not close and was frozen on that page. I had to start Task Manager and use end task to kill FIrefox.

On computer #1 I ran a scan with Avast! AV and it didn't really say it found anything. I removed some Windows notification component as recommended on a website I found and one or both of these things fixed it. On computer #2 I restarted to install a pending Windows Defender definition update and that seemed to work. On the that one the Windows Fall Creators update had just installed recently. I hven't installed Avast! AV on computer #2 yet.

Has anyone seen this virus or read about it?

[ZekeB]

My computer locked up Saturday morning. I'd reboot and it would hold for about ten minutes and lock again. Malwarebytes had a red flag, showing that Web Protection was turned off. I could not turn it back on. I removed Malwarebytes and everything ran fine. I re-installed Malwarebytes this morning and everything is running fine. The web sites are running much faster, in fact. I suspect that it was a bad definition release, but it could have been something else. It was nothing like what you had, RC.

[Reality Check]

I recall now that what I did on computer #1 was to go to programs and features and sort the programs by installation date. The most recently installed program was some sort of Windows alert app. I removed that and rebooted. That seem to fix things.

[ZekeB]

I just looked. I have no such app. It must have piggybacked in on another program of yours.

[qbawl]

Recently two of my desktop running Windows 10 came down with some kind of virus that infected Firefox Quantum. It hijacked My Yahoo, which is one of my home tabs, and threw up a big red warning page with a voice saying that my PC had been infected and to call some 855 number. I didn't of course. Firefox would not close and was frozen on that page. I had to start Task Manager and use end task to kill FIrefox.

On computer #1 I ran a scan with Avast! AV and it didn't really say it found anything. I removed some Windows notification component as recommended on a website I found and one or both of these things fixed it. On computer #2 I restarted to install a pending Windows Defender definition update and that seemed to work. On the that one the Windows Fall Creators update had just installed recently. I hven't installed Avast! AV on computer #2 yet.

Has anyone seen this virus or read about it?

This may be irrelevant but I did see today where the Intel patch for Spectre and Meltdown was causing excessive reboots in windows. Microsoft has issued an out of band fix that addresses it but turning off an entry in the registry effectively disables the Intel patch(which is what the MS fix does). More info @ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... -variant-2 and http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/ ... KB4078130

[Sugar Magnolia]

Recently two of my desktop running Windows 10 came down with some kind of virus that infected Firefox Quantum. It hijacked My Yahoo, which is one of my home tabs, and threw up a big red warning page with a voice saying that my PC had been infected and to call some 855 number. I didn't of course. Firefox would not close and was frozen on that page. I had to start Task Manager and use end task to kill FIrefox.

On computer #1 I ran a scan with Avast! AV and it didn't really say it found anything. I removed some Windows notification component as recommended on a website I found and one or both of these things fixed it. On computer #2 I restarted to install a pending Windows Defender definition update and that seemed to work. On the that one the Windows Fall Creators update had just installed recently. I hven't installed Avast! AV on computer #2 yet.

Has anyone seen this virus or read about it?

I got that last week, with a British accent, warning me about bank account hacks or something. I'm running Win 7 on this computer, but it somehow managed to totally disable my Chrome too. My husband did something magic so at least I could get back on the computer and didn't just get a black screen, and he uninstalled and reinstalled Chrome. It still didn't work, but the next day it came back by itself.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/pro ... 14d?auth=1

[Judge Roy Bean]

Recently two of my desktop running Windows 10 came down with some kind of virus that infected Firefox Quantum. It hijacked My Yahoo, which is one of my home tabs, and threw up a big red warning page with a voice saying that my PC had been infected and to call some 855 number. I didn't of course. Firefox would not close and was frozen on that page. I had to start Task Manager and use end task to kill FIrefox.

On computer #1 I ran a scan with Avast! AV and it didn't really say it found anything. I removed some Windows notification component as recommended on a website I found and one or both of these things fixed it. On computer #2 I restarted to install a pending Windows Defender definition update and that seemed to work. On the that one the Windows Fall Creators update had just installed recently. I hven't installed Avast! AV on computer #2 yet.

Has anyone seen this virus or read about it?

I got that last week, with a British accent, warning me about bank account hacks or something. I'm running Win 7 on this computer, but it somehow managed to totally disable my Chrome too. My husband did something magic so at least I could get back on the computer and didn't just get a black screen, and he uninstalled and reinstalled Chrome. It still didn't work, but the next day it came back by itself.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/pro ... 14d?auth=1

I would suggest Malwarebytes. They have a freemium scan/fix version of their widely-deployed commercial protection system, using the rationale that fixing individual/home users systems contributes to a reduction in the spread of malware and helps gather data on how threats are mutating and being deployed.

I run it about once a month on all our machines (two W7 and two W10) and it usually finds things that get by my anti-virus software. I don't use the always-running, paid-for version because we had some issues with Outlook with it but the scan/fix is one of the best, IMHO.

[Reality Check]

The main thing is don't click on anything. Hit cntl-alt-del then bring up Task Manager and kill the offending browser. My next step was to install and run Malwarebytes but in both cases the virus seemed to go away after a reboot.

[RTH10260]

How to delete Windows 10 diagnostic data collected by Microsoft
With Build 17083, Windows Insiders can now delete the data collected by Microsoft for diagnostics. Here's how.

By Conner Forrest | February 8, 2018, 6:17 AM PST

A new feature in Windows Insiders Build 17083 allows users to delete the diagnostic data that Microsoft collects.

Windows 10 has been criticized for privacy issues, and being able to delete diagnostic data could win more users over to the OS.

Microsoft has released a new feature in the Windows Insiders Build 17083 that will allow users to delete the diagnostic data stored by the firm. Here's a simple process for deleting your diagnostic data:

- Open the Start Menu at the bottom left of the home screen.
- Click Settings, and then click Privacy.
- Click Diagnostics & feedback.
- On the following pop-up window, click the grey Delete button, and you're all set.


https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ho ... microsoft/

comment: deleting the disgnostics may not stop MS from seeing data that was already transmitted.

[ZekeB]

17083? I'm running 1709 and I don't have that option the way you describe it. I have mine set to transmit minimal data and not send any Microsoft requests, but I can't disable this feature completely.

[RTH10260]

17083? I'm running 1709 and I don't have that option the way you describe it. I have mine set to transmit minimal data and not send any Microsoft requests, but I can't disable this feature completely.

This may be a preview of the next upcoming Win10 update.

[qbawl]

17083? I'm running 1709 and I don't have that option the way you describe it. I have mine set to transmit minimal data and not send any Microsoft requests, but I can't disable this feature completely.

I think 1709 and 17083 are different animals entirely. Specifically my understanding is that 1709 refers to the production release of W10 that occurred in the fall of last year and is not an actual build number whereas 17083 is a build number of the beta release of W10 available via the insiders program.

[Shizzle Popped]

Yeah, 17083 is the latest pre-release build. I suspect the changes to the diagnostic data system really have more to do with meeting EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). MS made some changes last spring but I suspect they may not have been enough to meet current or upcoming regs. The EU is a lot tougher about privacy regulations and can really make it hurt if you're found to be non-compliant. It seems like here in the US you have to be a flagrant abuser before anything is done about it.

[Shizzle Popped]

Also, too, I had the strangest thing happen the other day. I have a media server that run standard Windows 10 that was accidentally unplugged and then plugged back in. Later that day I tried to play something from one of the drives on that server and the software (KODI) responded that the file was no longer available and that was the case with all other media on that drive. After a little investigation I found that the drive was no longer shared. When I tried to re-add the share it said that the share was already in use for the C: drive on that machine. Now, I use naming conventions so that I know immediately which shares belong to which drives and that share name has been in use for at least 2 years without issues. Other than the power outage that machine hasn't been touched in 3 or 4 weeks. I assume that something happened during the momentary power outage that caused the issue but I just can't imagine what circumstances would cause the OS to flip a file share from one drive to another like that.

Anyway, I just thought it was odd. I haven't found any mention where other people have had this issue. Overall, Win10 has been pretty reliable so I'm not really complaining. Well, HomeGroups have been crap and I've stopped using them since Win10, but that's another story.

[Fortinbras]

I hope someone can help with my problem with my Windows7 (yes, SEVEN) PC.

About 6 or 7 weeks ago I did some fiddling with the Windows7 settings (and, no, I don't remember how/what I did, or else the solution would be easy), and had some really nasty results which took a lot more fiddling to work-around, leaving me with one persistent frustration: namely, I cannot stay logged into websites.

Used to be I could log into Fogbow at the beginning of the day (actually my password manager would log automatically for me) and then, for the rest of the day, I could wander around the internet and every time I came back to Fogbow it was ready for me, recognized me, and ready to continue as if I had never left. But now, I log onto Fogbow and then, after I leave it for another website and then return to Fogbow I have to log in from scratch, work through the introductory screens from scratch, etc., and do this every time, even more than a dozen times a day. And this is what's happening with every website I visit, even my email and other favorites. This is the problem with Chrome, with IE, and with Torch - the three browsers I use.

I have reduced the level of security and increased my acceptance of cookies but it didn't seem to help.

Your advice is strenuously requested.

[Somerset]

Your advice is strenuously requested.

Buy a Mac

[Judge Roy Bean]

I hope someone can help with my problem with my Windows7 (yes, SEVEN) PC.

About 6 or 7 weeks ago I did some fiddling with the Windows7 settings (and, no, I don't remember how/what I did, or else the solution would be easy), and had some really nasty results which took a lot more fiddling to work-around, leaving me with one persistent frustration: namely, I cannot stay logged into websites.

Used to be I could log into Fogbow at the beginning of the day (actually my password manager would log automatically for me) and then, for the rest of the day, I could wander around the internet and every time I came back to Fogbow it was ready for me, recognized me, and ready to continue as if I had never left. But now, I log onto Fogbow and then, after I leave it for another website and then return to Fogbow I have to log in from scratch, work through the introductory screens from scratch, etc., and do this every time, even more than a dozen times a day. And this is what's happening with every website I visit, even my email and other favorites. This is the problem with Chrome, with IE, and with Torch - the three browsers I use.

I have reduced the level of security and increased my acceptance of cookies but it didn't seem to help.

Your advice is strenuously requested.

Do you remember changing anything that looked like "windows credential manager?" The issue reminds me of something to do with persistence settings, but I so rarely touch our W7 machines any more I can't remember where they are.

[Fortinbras]

Dear JudgeRoyBean
The "Credential manager" was new to me, but I found it and I started eliminating what seemed to be competing passwords for my email (I don't know how these accumulated), and it seems to have reduced the problem. It wasn't a compete cure but it is a very conspicuous improvement.

Thanks a million.

[Judge Roy Bean]

Dear JudgeRoyBean
The "Credential manager" was new to me, but I found it and I started eliminating what seemed to be competing passwords for my email (I don't know how these accumulated), and it seems to have reduced the problem. It wasn't a compete cure but it is a very conspicuous improvement.

Thanks a million.

You're welcome - I, too, suffer with not wanting to face the daunting task of a 7 - 10 upgrade. My strategy over the years has been to add newer machines with the latest Windows product for regular use and delegate the older machines to basic storage duty with no Internet connections.

[ZekeB]

I did it. I swore I never would. I trashed IE and switched to Edge. I also use Firefox and Chrome, but for day to day stuff, I've stuck with Microsoft utilities. IE got so sluggish and would crash on almost every site that ran a script. I kept using it for sites like YouTube because the ad blockers worked well on it. Edge didn't have a blocker available. Edge now has a blocker available and it keeps on going when I'm on a site that lays it on with scripts. Edge interfaces nicely with Word and works better than IE when I'm on my foreign language learning site with Word up along-side. Cutting, pasting and text to sound works much better with Edge than with IE.

BTW, TFB always ran well on IE. It goes to show that you don't need a ton of scripts on a web site. TFB runs just fine on Edge too.

[RTH10260]

Windows 10 Spring Creators Update: A cheat sheet
Everything you need to know about the latest major feature update to Windows 10, including the features for home users and businesses, how to get it now and how to delay it.

By Nick Heath | April 6, 2018, 9:06 AM PST

Windows 10 is never finished, with Microsoft adding a bevvy of new features to the OS twice a year.

The latest bundle of features is almost here, with the Spring Creators Update expected to begin rolling out to PCs worldwide this month.

Windows 10 users can expect a smattering of improvements, the most interesting of which is Timeline, which allows users to easily jump back to what they were doing on a Windows 10 device at an earlier point, while IT admins and developers also get some smart upgrades to command line tools and Linux support.

Of course, not everyone will be thrilled to have a major update pushed upon them, even if it will be quicker to install than earlier releases, but there are ways to put off the upgrade.


https://www.techrepublic.com/article/wi ... eat-sheet/