Category Archives: Software

Finally, The End of Adobe Flash

Security, Software, Web Wise

As I am typing this, 1000’s of companies across the world are actively disabling and uninstalling all instances of Adobe Flash. For Microsoft Windows 10 machines, Microsoft provided an update (KB4577586) that must be installed, to uninstall, its previously well-integrated 3rd party Adobe Flash product. Google Chrome Browsing already is removing it in its December 2020 update.

It was announced three years ago the day would come for the end of Flash, and here we are. Back in the day, I even dabbled in designing some flash components for use in websites. But luckily that was soon replaced with new web standards (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) which became the norm and are suitable for mobile devices, which Adobe Flash was not.

Some brief history for you history buffs.

The internet was once a land of text blocks and dreary backgrounds. But everything changed in late 90’s when a company called Macromedia acquired an animation tool called FutureSplash and rebranded it as Macromedia Flash 1.0.

Then In 2005, Adobe acquired Macromedia for $3.4B and set out to make it even more ubiquitous. The true downfall of Flash began in 2007, when Apple decided not to support it on the new iPhone. In 2010, Steve Jobs penned the famous open letter “Thoughts on Flash,” which laid out a viscious critique of the technology:

  • Rapid energy consumption
  • Poor performance on mobile devices
  • Security dependence on one company (Adobe) made it a huge risk


Flash simply wasn’t made for the rising mobile world. And soon, new web standards (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) became the norm.

Fast forward to 2017 when Adobe announced it would discontinue Flash. It offically ended end of 2020 (Dec 31, 2020). Just like there are still pockets of Windows 7 devices out there, there will more likely be pockets of Flash for those applications that built around it vs the other way around.

So if your reading this and you haven’t yet, make sure to install Microsoft’s update (KB4577586) and the latest Google Chrome Browser to remove the security holes, Adobe Flash provides free of charge, to Windows devices.

How To Get Your Free Copy Of Windows 10 Operating System

Security, Software

Microsoft is making Windows 10 available as free upgrade for qualified Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 devices . Must be running with latest updates/patches installed.  If you never turned off windows updates for your computer you should be set.

Although this is a limited time offer, you have a while to get your things in order before you take the plunge as this free upgrade offer doesn’t end until July 29th, 2016. 
Read More

Be Cautious : Cryptolocker Ransomeware On The Rise

Security, Software, Web Wise
Capture

In the past month, several antivirus companies have discovered a new ransomware variant known as Cryptolocker.   Ransomware is a type of malware on the rise that holds your precious files hostage for money.

It does that by searching your computer and shares for popular file extensions and encrypts them preventing you from accessing them ever again unless you pay up.

This type of ransomware does not spread to other PCs or replicate by itself.  This program needs your interaction to do its evil work.  Ransomware needs you to launch the program on your PC.  Of course, like phishing scams, It does this by trying to trick you into opening up some random attachment from a random email.

This attachment (could be a picture, zip file or other) contains the simple script to get it started doing its havoc on your PC.


If your PC gets infected then your files will more then likely be encrypted shortly after and will not be able to access them. It is impossible to decrypt the files without the private key. 


Read More

Why You Should Be Using LastPass Password Manager

Computer Tips, Security, Software, Web Wise

Best Password Manager for online websites Have you ever stopped and thought about how many online sites you visit that require a username and password?

According to a study by Microsoft an average user has about 25 accounts that require passwords, and alarmingly types an average of 8 passwords per day. That was several years ago and it is much greater then that today.

Because of this a slew of products are available to help you “contain” all your username and passwords for online sites and they all can be accessed by one “master” password.

Why LastPass?

I have used several similar products that provide this functionality but have found LastPass to be the best.  I have used LastPass for several years now and it “manages” over 300 sites in my LastPass “Vault”.

Yes this number of sites is probably not the norm, but when you include: forums, online stores, email accounts, health accounts, financial accounts, business accounts, social media, etc…the accounts, usernames and passwords add up rather quickly. With LastPass I only have to remember ONE single password to access any of the sites securely.

As a technology engineer and business owner where everything is in the “cloud”, security is one of the most important aspects.

Secure

No one at LastPass will ever have access to your sensitive information as it is 256-bit AES encrypted. The decryption occurs on your local device (PC, android, IOS etc..). And all data passing to the cloud uses SSL.
Read More

GoodSync: The Ultimate Free Backup and Synchronization Software?

Computer Tips, Security, Software, Web Wise

goodsync-logoSo you want to sync your local files to your Microsoft SkyDrive or Google Drive account for free? Well then GoodSync is worth looking into and you can download the FREE version here.

After reviewing it and using the free version myself, I ended up buying the pro version as it has so many more options and is one of the better backup and synchronization programs out there I have explored.

One of the outstanding features that I use myself that others do not offer is the ability it has to sync to the cloud.

I am able to sync my local files to the cloud such as Amazon Cloud, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Google Drive.  I use two out the three cloud services I listed, but actually prefer my Google Drive due to the FREE 15GB of storage and it just makes sense as I already use Google App for Business as my business Mail Provider for free. You can find out more about Google Drive here.

The syncing is fast as they now use
Read More