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Showing posts from July, 2021

Malwarebytes 4.4.4 adds RDP Brute Force Protection among other things

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Our last look at the security software Malwarebytes dates back to 2019 when Malwarebytes 4.0 was released . The release had its fair share of issues that included incompatibilities with other programs, high memory usage among other things. Malwarebytes for Windows 4.4.4 was released this week, and it is the latest of many releases of the program’s 4.x branch. The release is already available via the security program’s built-in updating functionality. Users who download the offline installer won’t get version 4.4.4 at this point but version 4.4.3. The online installer, which requires an Internet connection, will install the latest version. Malwarebytes 4.4.4’s memory usage changed significantly between states. Minimized, the program used about 150 Megabytes on a Windows 10 system; this went up when the GUI was shown and during scanning activity. Malwarebytes 4.4.4 Malwarebytes 4.4.4 includes several feature additions. One of the main new features of this release is that it may pro

Your PC is not compatible with Windows 11? Here are your options!

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Microsoft’s new Windows 11 operating system will be released later this year; the system will be a free upgrade for devices running Windows 10, provided that they have a genuine activated license and meet the system requirements. Microsoft revealed earlier that there won’t be a direct upgrade path to Windows 11 from Windows 7 or 8.1 systems . These devices would need two major upgrades, first to Windows 10 and then to Windows 11, or a fresh install of Windows 11. The latter would mean that all data that is on the devices won’t carry over to the new system. Windows 11’s system requirements differ from those of previous versions of Windows. Microsoft admitted that some of the requirements are not set in stone , especially the processor restrictions may be lifted before the operating system is released officially. Some requirements, including the need for Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, are set in stone already. These limit compatibility and a number of devices that run Windows 10

KB5004296 is an optional update for Windows 10 with lots of fixes

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Microsoft released optional updates KB5004296 and KB5004293 for Windows 10 versions 1909, 2004, 20H2 and 21H1 today that address gaming issues and other issues in those versions of Windows 10. KB5004296 , released for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1, and KB5004293 , released for Windows 10 version 1900, are optional updates. Generally speaking, it is not advised to install these unless they do fix a critical issue on a device you are using. You need to seek for the updates manually if you are using Windows Updates, or download the updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog website to install them manually. You find the update listed under optional quality updates in Windows Update. Here are the update catalog links: The updates will be part of the coming August 2021 Patch Tuesday, which happens on August 10, 2021. KB5004296 KB5004296 is released for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1; the changes that the update makes are identical for all versions. Microsoft change

Material You is already here with a Contacts makeover

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The wait for Android 12’s official release is still ongoing, with us being a beta or so away. However, the release is drawing closer, and we’re already starting to see the effects of Android’s upcoming makeover . A few apps are already starting to sport some minor Material You UI touch-ups . Currently, these include Chrome and the Camera. And today, it’s the turn of Contacts. With the newest update to the Contacts app , there are some automatic themes that have been included, and you can start taking advantage of the new, fresh look even if you have Android 11. Contacts is also the first app to officially receive its new look. This includes theme support and the iconic rounded edges through the UI. If you’re already running the beta version of Android 12, which you can get on your phone through an APK, you’ll already start to see an effect of the Material You feature in your Contacts. Material You will already start pulling from your wallpaper and changing the colors of everything,

You better add Pin Protection to your Bitlocker configuration

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Bitlocker is a popular encryption technology by Microsoft that is used to protect data on Windows devices. Home users and Enterprise customers may protect the system and data using Bitlocker. Bitlocker works in a convenient way by default, as users don’t need to enter a pin or password during boot, as all of this is handled by the system automatically. Tip : check out our how to setup Bitlocker on Windows 10 guide . Setting up a pin is optional, but highly recommended, as a recent story on Dolos Group’s blog suggest. The company received a laptop from an organization that was configured with the standard security stack of the organization. The laptop was fully encrypted with TPM and Bitlocker, had a BIOS password set, locked BIOS boot order and used secure boot to prevent unsigned operating systems from booting. The security researchers discovered that the system was booting right to the Windows 10 login screen; this meant that users did not have to type a pin or password prior t

Ghacks Deals: The Complete C# Programming Bundle: Lifetime Access (just $29)

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The Complete C# Programming Bundle: Lifetime Access gives you access to 7 C# courses. The courses cover a wide range of topics, including game creation using Unity, Android application creation, and more. Access is offered for lifetime, and certification of completion is included. Here is the full list of courses included: Xamarin.Android: A Master Guide To App Development In C# –Create Your First Android App with This Versatile Dev Platform Xamarin.iOS: A Master Guide To App Development In C# — Explore the Xamarin Essentials & Create Your First iOS App Make A 2D Flappy Bird Game In Unity — Learn How to Code in C#, Make 2D Art & Create Your Own Game Learn To Code In C#: Make A Multiplayer Unity Game — Come to Grips with C#, Unity & Photoshop as You Create Your Own Side-Scrolling Game Code In C# & Design A Full 2D Shooter in Unity — Kickstart Your Game Dev Education by Building Your First Metroid-Inspired Shooter Game C# Basics: Learn To Code The Right Way — Go

Android Development Made Easier by Jetpack Compose 1.0 Release

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Android developers rejoice! Jetpack Compose 1.0 is finally here. It has been a long wait since being introduced in 2019, and finally releasing a Canary build earlier this year. But now it’s finally available. This tool aims to help developers build apps much faster while also taking advantage of Android’s modern native UI. This tool should be able to breathe new life into your favorite Android apps, but it isn’t only limited to Android smartphones. Other products also use Google’s various software, such as Chrome OS, Android TV, and even the new foldable smartphones. One of the things that make it difficult for certain users to switch from iOS to Android is the fact that, despite being able to use the app across almost any Android device, even Chrome OS, the apps sometimes look and behave differently on each device. In this area, Apple is slightly ahead of the game after the release of Swift UI in recent years. This is Apple’s coding language and makes it easier for iOS developer

Security mystery of Android apps and Google Play Store revealed

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Google is lifting the veil of mystery surrounding the Play Store’s upcoming safety section . And we can’t be more grateful. They have detailed that Android apps in the Google Play Store will have to share their privacy and security policies in an effort to create more transparency. Furthermore, they have also imposed strict deadlines for when these changes must reflect. Once implemented, Android users can visit the security section in any app’s Google Play listing, and you will see the security and privacy policies that govern your data. You will be able to clearly see if the app encrypts data , what type of information the app collects, and more impressively, whether or not the security has been tested against worldwide standards . There will also be a summary feature that you can tap for more details. This will show you what type of data has been collected and how it’s being used. This is one way Google gives developers a chance to explain why they’re asking for your information.

Google TV for Android Has More Streaming and Live Services

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After the Android TV update last week, Google is now focussing on a major update to the Google TV app for your Android TV and other Android devices. This update brings support along with more streaming channels, live TV services and more. Along with the update comes a fresh new user interface (UI), better recommendations and integrations to YouTube TV. Users will experience a more cinematic look with movie and show posters being shown in the new 16:9 aspect ratio. It will also be much easier to discover good content as there will be a Rotten Tomatoes score under each poster, which can be useful for those nights when you’re just browsing for something to watch on your Android TV. There has also been a lot of improvement made to the recommendation system . This will help you find content that suits your interests. Listing movies and shows as watched in the ‘For You’ tab on your Android TV or smartphone will aid Google in fine-tuning recommendations. The app will also feature more r

Android’s Kiwi Browser will follow Chromium releases more closely soon

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Kiwi Browser is a third-party Chromium-based web browser for Google’s Android operating system that packs a lot of features. Probably the most noteworthy is the browser’s support for Chrome extensions; while not all extensions will install on Android, it is one of the few browsers that is based on Chromium that supports extensions on Android. Kiwi browser comes with an integrated ad-blocker and some other features, but it is extensions support that may appeal the most to users. The browser is developed by a single developer, and this meant in the past that releases were infrequent. Considering that hundreds of developers are working on major browsers for Android, Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera or Brave, it is clear that Kiwi development is at a disadvantage in this regard. With Chromium moving from a 6-week to a 4-week release cycle, things could get even worse in the future. The developer of Kiwi Browser has been working on Kiwi Next for some time now to address the issue and make

Is a Switch-To-Android App in the Works for iOS Users?

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Is Google making the bold move to aim for iOS users? According to a recent article from Google9to5, Google is working on an iOS app called ‘ Switch to Android ’ .  If we consider that there are basically two major mobile operating systems, Android and iOS , users need to choose between these two options . And it isn’t easy to migrate from one to the other – the companies made sure of that. While doing this has its benefits, it is also a double-edged sword. Users who have grown accustomed to one OS will usually stay with what is familiar to them and will rarely change sides. Apple has already started to blur this boundary with their ‘Move to iOS’ app that’s available in the Google Play Store. Now it seems that Google is retaliating. Currently, users are restricted to using Google Drive to move files and data from iOS to an Android device . The way it works is that users would back up as much of the iOS data as they can to Google Drive, and then from the

Leaked Codename for Android 13

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We are all still patiently waiting for the release of the official Android 12, which is currently in beta 3 and should be released in mid-August, and already there are leaks for Android 13’s codename . It appears Google is already starting to lay the groundwork for the release, despite it still being a long way off. And it seems that the dessert names are back ! After all, the reasoning behind these names is that Android makes life so much sweeter for users. Recently, a commit was spotted on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that hinted at the codename for Android 13. This internal code was leaked on Twitter and showed that Android 13 is being referred to by the codename Tiramisu , after the Italian coffee-flavored dessert . That dessert tradition died after version 10 and the rebrand refresh that took place. However, the internal codenames seem to continue, and they are still following alphabetical order. The codenames weren’t used publicly after versio

Vivaldi Browser 4.1 introduces Accordion Tabs and Automation

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Vivaldi Technologies released Vivaldi Browser 4.1 Stable on July 28, 2021. The new version of the Vivaldi Browser is the first major version of the web browser after the release of Vivaldi 4.0 , which introduced beta versions of a mail client, feed reader and calendar among other improvements. Vivaldi 4.1 Vivaldi 4.1 is already available and it is distributed automatically using the built-in updating functionality. Desktop users may select Vivaldi Menu > Help > Check for updates to run a manual check and get the new version downloaded and installed right away; the automatic distribution may take longer. Accordion Tabs Ashwin reviewed Accordion Tabs recently already in a snapshot release of Vivaldi. The new browser version introduces a third Tab Stacking option. Vivaldi introduced support for tab stacks in the first release version of the browser and for two-level stacks in version 3.6 . Compact displays a small bar on top of the tab that reveals if multiple tabs are sta

Android Data Restore Tool Now on the Play Store After Overhaul

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If you’re an advent Android user, you have no doubt used the Data Restore Tool before. This tool comes pre-installed with most new Android phones. It’s a very convenient app for migrating data and files from an old Android phone to a new one. Google is now bringing the app to the Play Store in a somewhat confusing move. The data recovery app was released on the Play Store somewhere between 19 and 22 July. Despite already being pre-installed on most Android devices, it’s already been downloaded over a billion times. And after looking at the reviews, it’s clear that we aren’t the only ones confused by its appearance on the Play Store. Aside from its release so soon after Google announced a new simplified backup system , there are a few other issues that make us question why this app was released. Before we go into why this release is so confusing, let’s just get things straight. This is not the same data transfer tool that was released in 2017, which was more specific to Pixel devi

Audacity 3.0.3 introduces error reporting and update checking functionality

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A new version of the open source audio editor Audacity has been released. Audacity 3.0.3 introduces support for automatic update checks and error reporting among other new features. Project ownership of Audacity changed in May 2021 when MuseGroup announced the acquisition of the open source editor. Details were not provided. Shortly thereafter, MuseGroup revealed plans to introduce Telemetry in Audacity , an offline audio editor. The company dropped its Telemetry plans in the same month after user criticism reached new highs. MuseGroup published an updated privacy notice in July 2021 , and it too blew up in the company’s face. An updated privacy policy was released in the same month and the company apologized for releasing the first privacy notice. Audacity 3.0.3 is the first version of the open source audio editor that supports the new error reporting and update checking functionality. The developers dropped plans to introduce Telemetry collecting and reporting in Audacity, but

Google’s solution to fight Google Drive Sharing Spam is inadequate

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Google announced a new block user feature for its Google Drive file hosting and synchronization service Google Drive last week that prevents others from sharing files and folders with you. Up until now, everyone with a Google account could share content with everyone else, provided that they have that user’s email address. By default, new shares are announced via notifications or emails. The new share is shown when you click on the shared section of Google Drive as well, and it was stuck there up until now. The shared files are not downloaded immediately or added to a user’s Google Drive, but the files are listed, even if unwanted. Sharing is a useful feature, as it enables users and teams to share files with others. You could use a shared folder to work on an Excel spreadsheet together, or a book, or share holiday photos with other family members or friends. Spammers have abused the share system for a long time. All it took was to get hold of a user’s Google email address. Conten