So what’s up with Microsoft? Major changes, that’s what. I just read today that Microsoft is changing pace and direction yet again (good new if you are a stockholder, bad news if you are just trying to hang on with old technology) Starting this month, it’s closing doors to almost all of it’s Windows. Support for them anyway…they are stopping for support for a whole list of stuff. You may want to take a look:
The support for the below products will be discontinued across different forums in the Community.
Windows 7, 8.1, 8.1 RT Microsoft Security Essentials Internet Explorer 10 Office 2010, 2013 Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface RT, Surface 2 Microsoft Band – this topic will be locked. Users are invited to participate in Microsoft Band 2 topic. Mobile devices forum – Microsoft support will continue in “Other Windows mobile devices” topic Zune – this topic will be locked, but will remain available for browsing
Microsoft Community participants are welcome, however, and encouraged to continue to use the forum to ask questions and post answers with “each other.” In other words, there won’t be any more “Microsoft” responses to questions and issues posted there. They are dumping everyone. Microsoft Support Forum Changes Microsoft is moving even MORE to the cloud, and in some arenas, into the open-source industry as well.
Also, a new version of Office, Office 2019 is supposed to come out later this year. and will supposedly have the same life support as Office 2016. (but if you don’t have that, better get with the program) Office 2019
Since the new CEO Satya Nadella joined the game in 2014, these shifts and acquisitions took place: $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang, the Swedish maker of Minecraft shortly after his arrival, then in 2016 acquired Xamarin for a rumored $500 million, and then, announced just days before the cuts to product support, Microsoft’s $7.5 billion purchase of the world’s largest code repository, Github, underscores its commitment to open-source software development. Read the full article here: Microsoft closing Windows’ doors.
A video, 12 signs your computer has been hacked. It’s not the full list, but it’s the main list. If you “do” think that maybe your computer has been hacked, watch the video. It may be that something else is going on. But, if you watch the video, and after, you really are more convinced than ever you have been hacked, or some account has been hacked, and you don’t know what you should do next, you can call a professional. We deal with it all the time. It can be a scary situation, and even though you know you shouldn’t panic, it’s kind of hard not to. (especially if there is money involved) But fear not, help is out there. You can get in touch with Everything I.T. for one thing. (Or someone else, it doesn’t matter really, just call someone who can help you)
If you thing you’ve been hacked, and you don’t know what to do, call everything now at (805) 253-2034 (if you have internet you can hit the chat button and talk to someone right away.)
So. How exactly DO you cool the world’s fastest supercomputer? With about 4,000 gallons of water a minute to cool 37,000 processors, that’s how. Summit, built by IBM, occupies floor space equivalent to two tennis courts, and was built for (owned by) Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee. That’s right, the US now holds that record again, after the Chinese grabbed it in June of 2013. When you build a computer like that, it kind of pays for itself I would think, as the world starts sending you all the problems smaller computers can’t solve fast enough. Summit has more than 1,000 petaflops of computing power, with a peak performance of 200 quadrillion calculations per second. If you want to read about some of the planned uses for Summit, READ HERE (link will take you off the site)
Everything I.T. builds computers also, just not quite that large. 🙂
WARNING! HOLD OFF ON UPDATING WINDOWS 10 RIGHT NOW (APR/MAY 2018) !!
I’m advising people to postpone updating Windows 10 to the April 1803 update. It is crashing a LOT of machines …and doing it in such a way that they are not recoverable apart from reinstalling Windows. Make sure all your documents are backed up, and if you have backup software make sure you have an image of your hard drive. If you want to know what build you have click on Settings gear icon by the bottom of the start menu, and type UPDATE in the search box at the top, and pull up the Windows Update settings page. Then look for the link that says “build info” , …should look like this:
After that, you should have this page:
If it still says 1709 you are good. If it says 1803 and your machine didn’t crash, EVEN BETTER!! 🙂 But if it says 1709, you may want to pause your updates for a while. Or at least make sure you have really good backups. …and if the worst already happened, give us a call. We can rebuilt it for you! 🙂 (and my sincerest sympathies to you)
EDIT: I just REALIZED that it didn’t update to 5.0. It WAS supposed to be a 5.0 update today. Maybe they had a bug with it and downgraded…it’s actually version 4.9.6 that got released, and I didn’t find out until I just noticed as I was doing my sites, that it was a different version than was supposed to be released today. So, I’m sorry for that, I guess they are still working it. Uggh, so sorry folks. So when they do finally release 5.0, you will really want to get it.
WordPress 5.0 is FINALLY here! Think about it…only up to the core version 5…this is a MAJOR update! If you didn’t upgrade earlier updates, you need to at least get this one, and get to the next whole version. Incorporates a whole new editor, and top, new, security features! If you didn’t know, Gutenberg “used” to be just a plugin editor. But it is now part of WordPress. It’s supposed to make editing your easier, for those of you who don’t know CSS and HTML, it supposedly does more for you with just the visual editor / drag and drop if you will. There are plenty of places to read about it, just Google “Gutenberg WordPress Editor”. One of the great new features is “block editing” …which before, you had to get a heavy theme with something incorporated if you wanted a feature like this.[edsanimate_start entry_animation_type= “spinner” entry_delay= “2.5” entry_duration= “1.5” entry_timing= “linear” exit_animation_type= “” exit_delay= “” exit_duration= “” exit_timing= “” animation_repeat= “1” keep= “yes” animate_on= “scroll” scroll_offset= “25” custom_css_class= “”][edsanimate_start entry_animation_type= “rotateIn” entry_delay= “0” entry_duration= “1.5” entry_timing= “linear” exit_animation_type= “” exit_delay= “” exit_duration= “” exit_timing= “” animation_repeat= “1” keep= “yes” animate_on= “hover” scroll_offset= “” custom_css_class= “”][edsanimate_end][edsanimate_end]
In addtion to the editor, it has better security (every WordPress update increased security some, so they are always important to update) but it also has a better background image cropping/editor, and better Mobile Optimization as well. You are definitly going to want to look into this and update right away. If you want a safe update, you can call us, and we will make sure you get all the files AND the database backed up both prior to, and after the update if you want. We like to do things safely at Everything I.T.
And by the way, SSL certificate installations are STILL ON SALE. If your website is not HTTPS:// instead of HTTP:// you NEED to get a hold of us RIGHT AWAY! You are losing customers. Google has been putting you at the END of the search results if you have not converted to an encrypted connection. LET us fix that for you PLEASE. It will help your business!!! And if you want help updating your site, just go to the contact page, or hit the chat button. 🙂
If you want to purchase this deal to get an SSL certificate installed on your site, click here, and order it now:
FIRST put your info so we can reach you after your purchase…
SSL Installation: Special price -limited time only!
$65 for installation with cost of certificate INCLUDED. (usually separate cost)
If you don’t have an SSL certificate on your website, your site likely looks like this first image (on a Mac): The next 5 are examples of other various displays of sites without SSL, on various browsers
The main point is this, without an SSL certificate, you won’t have the GREEN PADLOCK next to your sites URL (web address) and you are losing traffic, and BUSINESS. Not to mention that Google now “bottom ranks” insecure (non-ssl) websites. That’s right, you go to the VERY BOTTOM of the page ranking results, displaying probably, somewhere around page 10 in the search results if someone searches for your business with Google. Sometimes even warnings are displayed recommending people NOT navigate to your website. Those can look something like this:
Or, maybe you find yourself in this situation: You may actually HAVE an SSL certificate on your website, but still don’t have the GREEN PADLOCK on your address bar, indicating it is secure. If you have THIS particular issue, I can fix that also. It has to do with having mixed content, and I can fix it, you should call me. (it will be a different price, so don’t use this button though) If you DO have an SSL certificate, and the HTTPS:// address works, but you still don’t have a green padlock, your site will look something like this:
NOTE: If you already have a certificate, or if you choose to purchase your own from a different provider, the cost of installation is still $65, which is a discount from the $75, which is a discount from the original price of $100.
If you want to purchase this deal to get an SSL certificate installed on your site, click here, and order it now:
FIRST put your info so we can reach you after your purchase…
No, it’s not I.T. related. But I do post local news when I think it’s really something you should know. And a government agency RETURNING money? Now THAT is RARE! But it’s true.
Have you ever heard of the social network site called “NextDoor” …Next Door? Anyone can join, but you only interact with people in your own PHYSICAL neighborhoods/areas. It’s pretty cool really. I didn’t think I would find a use for it, but it does come in handy. And many local agencies also post information there now. Much like this post that showed up today:
You wanted to know where the earthquake was centered at, right? I did. Well, it was centered on the Island of Santa Cruz. (click header for full post to see map) My friend has a boat and often cruises out off the coast, and he took a video of the back side of the island, which has major damage, although no “people” were affected, the back side of the island broke off and fell in to to the ocean. If I can get the video link again, I will add it.
If you are on the west side of the VC grade, you likely felt it pretty good. The whole county felt it though, but if you were in Channel Islands, Hueneme, or Point Mugu, you probably felt it the best.
Well, now that you are here, why not look around a little? Most people need some kind of I.T. service, but they don’t think of it until something refreshes their memory. But now that you are here, do you have a computer issue that is bugging you to death, an image you want edited, a website you want created, updated, or even just maintained? How about a laptop you need repaired? Want a custom gaming computer built? Remote support available. Ethical, honest, and reliable! Give me a call. (or chat, or text, or leave a voice mail…so many ways to reach me!)
Glad the earthquake was only 5.3 and not 8.3, right? Because we would have been in serious trouble then. 🙂
Another WordPress CORE update came out yesterday, PASS IT ON! haha…
Seriously, they do come out regularly. Do you have yours set to “automatically” update. I don’t. It’s probably more work the way I do it, because I do full file and database backup before updating the core files, …and while I have never needed that backup yet, it’s just my luck that the second I stop backing up first, an update will surely bring down my site and I won’t have the means to restore it, so my “automatic” feature, is turned off. How about you? Do you do your own? Do you have someone else do them? Do you ignore them altogether? (We do have an annual service that is very reasonable if you want them done “for” you…with backups first. Just get a hold of me on the contact page, or chat, or voicemail, or however you like really.
Anyway, back to the update. This update fixes 28 bugs, and some major security updates.
WordPress versions 4.9.4 and earlier are affected by three security issues. As part of the core team’s ongoing commitment to security hardening, the following fixes have been implemented in 4.9.5:
Don’t treat localhost as same host by default.
Use safe redirects when redirecting the login page if SSL is forced.
Make sure the version string is correctly escaped for use in generator tags.
Twenty-five other bugs were fixed in WordPress 4.9.5. Particularly of note were:
The previous styles on caption shortcodes have been restored.
Cropping on touch screen devices is now supported.
A variety of strings such as error messages have been updated for better clarity.
The position of an attachment placeholder during uploads has been fixed.
Custom nonce functionality in the REST API JavaScript client has been made consistent throughout the code base.
If you subscribe to my blog, or my facebook page, I do try to put out a notice for all “important” WordPress updates and/or changes, so follow if it makes life easier for you. 🙂
Ok, I had a potential client call me this morning, and ask me if was familiar with 5ghz CPE. I wasn’t at home or near computer when she called, and as soon as I indicated I didn’t have 100% knowledge on the subject she hung up. Big mistake on her part. Folks, it’s a COMMON marketing ploy to take an age old technology, wrap it in a new box (i.e.: …give it a new name) and hope that the general public is dumb enough not to recognize it and pay the 250% markup they are hoping to get on it. I get so tired of it really. It started with “THE CLOUD” …remember when that term was new? How many of you were, or maybe still are, confused the “The Cloud” …big clue…the “CLOUD” …is just another term for the internet, and internet related products and services. Stuff stored “in the cloud” …is not all that mysterious. This is only 2018 and everything has a PHYSICAL location. Someone, somewhere, has a data center, and you connect to it through the internet, and that’s the cloud.
OK, so back the CPE thing: CPE stands for “CUSTOMER PREMISES EQUIPMENT” …it’s equipment, owned by your internet (or other) service provider, and located on your premises. Pretty lame huh? Basically, a 5Ghz CPE is a “mysterious” nomenclature for a N-band router. (even more lame now that you know, right?) …oh, not just any router, a router owned by your service provider, located on a customer’s premises. I rolled over laughing hysterically when I looked this up ….and I see that the term is actually being used more and more often now. Like this one I saw at on a Fry’s electronics ad today: https://www.frys.com/product/9226939?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG …it’s an outdoor wifi repeater/range extender/switch unit thingy that sends the wifi signal from your house (indoors) …to your outdoors area. I guess you must have to have a very big house to need one of these, because my standard router sends a signal that I can reach out in my carport, and a good 500 yards away from my door. (or more, I never actually measured it as I drove away, but I would not have a need for this device)
I think that sometimes people forget that “Information Technology” encompasses so much more than websites and computer repair. I also create and edit many kinds of documents: Word, spreadsheets, images, audio, video, programming, data organization and management, and the list goes on. I get image requests of various kinds quite frequently. And while it’s true I am more of a programmer than an artist, if the client can communicate what it is they want, I can do it. (I just don’t usually dream it up) This young man wanted an animated gif for his store, it came out decent so I thought I would share it. It looks simple, but it has over a hundred layers and over a hundred frames.
Just one of the many little jobs I do. Give me a call with YOUR special project!
With over one million tickets for sale, the 2018 Winter Olympics will bring large crowds that demand connectivity and technological access, giving hackers a target-rich environment. If you are planning on participating, either as a viewer, or as a participant, in the 2018 Winter Olympics, then you should probably read this article to understand all the ways you may/could be targeted for one of many various digital attacks. Informed is 1/2 the battle, after all. https://security.radware.com/ddos-threats-attacks/threat-advisories-attack-reports/2018-winter-olympics/
This is huge…if you have ever followed updates you know that the kernel often has holes plugged, but apparently this vulnerability is huge. Clearly to properly fix a hardware vulnerability properly requires a hardware upgrade. But operating system updates can address it. But the kernel is addressed so frequently that this type of fix will significantly slow down all computers. This new vulnerability, which is being kept hush-hush until it’s all been patched, affects ALL computers and laptops with Intel processors, whether they are Windows, Mac, or Linux based. Yes, that’s right…since Apple always has what has previously been the best hardware, they are also affected on this one. This vulnerability affects all Intel-based PC’s going back 10 years. I’ve read in some places that some newest processors may not be as affected “quite” as much, i.e. the slowdown won’t be as dramatic, but they are all affected. This is a sad day. I know I’m sad. I can’t afford to upgrade hardware, I just built my current rig about a year ago. Upgrading a processor usually requires a new motherboard also, unless you just got one maybe. Anyway, if you look on the web, you will see many articles on this subject, all them current news. I’ll give you some for some reading if you are concerned. Even though the specifics of the vulnerability won’t be released until the patch is out, they have said that it’s a memory leak…so basically it would give hackers the ability to read data, but not to write, delete, or modify it. (whatever comfort that may be) …I’m wondering if simple encryption helps in this case. ??? What say you?
How lack are you in your password creation? If you have one of these worst passwords ever, a hacker can gain access in minutes. (like 1 or 2). And if you even use any word that is found in a common dictionary, a computer program (called a brute force hacker) can go through the entire dictionary in a very short time, and still gain access.
For a password to be secure, it should have capital letters (not just the 1st one) lower case, numbers, and if permitted, characters, and it should be at least 16 characters long to be secure. It’s not that hard, as the Chrome browser can remember all your passwords for you, and if you log in to your google account on any Chrome browser, your passwords will be there for you. (just don’t forget to log off when you’re done) …that way, the only hard one you have ot remember and keep secure, is your Google password.
Ready for the list? Here’s the worst of the bunch: (if you have one, you are dead in the water!)
1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. letmein
8. 1234567
9. football
10. iloveyou
11. admin
12. welcome
13. monkey
14. login
15. abc123
16. starwars
17. 123123
18. dragon
19. passw0rd
20. master
Remember, make sure your password can’t be located in a Dictionary! 🙂
[edsanimate_end][edsanimate_end]
Recent Comments