Refer previous posts:
Just when I almost weakened and set up a PassKey for at least one account (Google), I heard this on Windows Weekly Ep 944. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcvuD36zQbo
About 1 hr 54 minutes (start of section talking about authenticator Apps –10 minutes approx.) Towards the end of the segment they talk about ongoing problems with PassKeys even when stored in your Password Manager. When I am sure that all issues have been sorted out, I will consider.
SECURITY NOW EPISODE No 1022
Refer “Security Now” Ep 1022 issued on 23/4/25.
About 1 Hr 32 Mins to 1Hr 51 Min
SUMMARY OF THE CHANGES
The maximum lifetime period for SSL/TLS certificates is currently 398 days. However, the people who control the issue as well as major browsers, are gradually reducing this to 47 days by March 2029. All major browsers (from Apple, Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft) are going to enforce the new rules, and the reason is to increase security by reducing the risk of compromised certificates.
A summary of the changes:
It just so happens that I got an email from my web hosting company that I did not fully understand – but now all is clear.
Steve Gibson, the host of the podcast “Security Now,” is not happy and I am also not happy. I hope that web hosting companies will provide some sort of automation to make the process easier.
Refer previous post.
Google Chrome browser has been warning users of uBlock Origin that it will soon be disabled. The reason is that Chrome (and other browsers based on Chromium like Edge) will be moving from existing standard “Manifest v2” to a new standard “Manifest v3”. The creator/maintainer of uBlock Origin, has indicated that he will not be adapting uBlock Origin to Manifest v3.
Chrome is suggesting that you will have to find an alternative ad blocker before Google Chrome disables it for good. A suggested alternative is uBlock Origin Lite – a “fork” of the original. It is a content-blocking extension that functions on the upcoming Manifest v3 system but lacks some features of the original.
uBlock Origin still works on Firefox and I have switched to that browser for watching YouTube videos. Edge is still my default browser and I will still also continue to use Chrome.
I installed uBlock Origin Lite on Chrome and it blocked the pre-roll ads on YouTube. However, like the ad blocker I use on my Apple iPad, it produces a black screen for a few seconds in place of the pre-roll ads. I am not sure about the annoying ads that interrupt the video. They have not appeared so far, and I will update this post if they do appear – or a blank screen appears.
My Ad Blocker of choice is UBlock Origin, but it no longer works on Chrome when accessing YouTube.
In fact, Google says it will disable UBlock Origin on Chrome this year. This is the message when you click Manage Extension for UBlock Origin on Chrome:
This extension may soon no longer be supported
Remove or replace it with similar extensions from the Chrome Web Store
It continues to work fully on Firefox and Edge** so I guess I will start viewing YouTube on Firefox. those browsers.** YouTube is almost un-watchable with ads interrupting at various random times. I don’t mind the pre-roll ads, but it is the abrupt interruptions that annoy me.
I will stop using Chrome if it becomes necessary.
The podcast SECURITY NOW Ep 986 mentioned this subject, and it is not known yet if UBlock Origin will update its Chrome Extension to comply with the new Chrome policy.
This is the entry for UBlock Origin on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBlock_Origin
UBlock Origin is the pick of the Ad Blockers, and I intend to continue using for as long as I can, if necessary, by not using browsers that block it. So far, Chrome is only blocking it on YouTube, but they have stated that they will fully block it this year.
As I have previously stated, I leave the default browser/search engines in place. That means, with Windows PCs the default browser is Edge with Bing as the search engine. I also use 2 other browsers – Firefox / DuckDuckGo and Chrome / Google.
** UPDATE MICROSOFT EDGE
A similar situation exists with Edge and YouTube (which is not surprising now that Edge is based on Chromium)
Windows 11- Local Backup to External Drive – Refer previous posts. Most recent https://whysun.com/computers-and-the-internet/windows-11-update-10-local-backup-to-external-drive/
One of my Win 11 computers has been updated to the latest version (of Windows 11) – 22H2. My other one, Microsoft Surface Pro 7, still has not been updated. (The Surface Pro 7 was updated about 2 weeks later.)
The very first thing I did was to see if Settings had been updated to include the backup option to a local external drive.
It has not.
Access to this function remains via (the old) Control Panel / File History .
I have been looking around in the new “Settings” (Formerly “All Settings”) and things have changed a lot in Win 11.
CONTROL PANEL
You can still get to the old Control Panel via – Start / All Apps / Windows Tools / Control Panel.
AND I have certainly needed this.
BACK UP
I have an external USB drive set up for backups (plus a system image when I think of it). I also have backups and syncs to One Drive.
I use the 3-2-1 backup method. Three copies of everything – Original on the computer – Second Copy on a local backup – Third Copy “off premises” backup (On Line/ OneDrive).
Just out of curiosity, I went looking for Backup to make sure my computer was still being backed up to both the USB Drive and One Drive after upgrade to Win 11.
I found a section for Backup in – Settings / Accounts / Windows backup. However, this seems to only apply to One Drive Backup.
I then went to Settings / System / Storage / Advanced Storage Settings / Backup Options – but this took me to the same One Drive Backup mentioned above.
After that, I tried – Settings / System / Storage / Advanced Storage Settings / Storage used on other drives – and found the USB Backup Drive, but no way to access the Backup functions.
I was able to go to the old Control Panel / File History to ensure that it is still running / Set up/ turn on or off etc. However, there seems to be no equivalent to the Backup section in All Settings on Win 10.
I searched on line and could not find much apart from the suggestion that the old local backup option has been depreciated in favour of online (One Drive) back up.
I hope not.
Note 1 I will complete new posts when I come across something of interest with Win 11, rather than add to the original post.
Note 2 My Surface Pro 7 was updated to Win 11 this morning.
RIGHT CLICK
The menu for a right mouse click has changed.
This is the old Win 10 Right Click menu:
This is the new Win 11 menu:
OR With the new icons on top
NOTE! If you click “Show More Options” you get the old menu
The difference is the use of icons for cut/paste etc.
Hover your mouse over the icon to get the description.
However they are mostly self explanatory. From left to right:
It took me about 2 seconds to work them out apart from the rename icon. I had to hover the mouse to find out what it was.
AND when you cut or copy, an icon comes up later for paste.
Microsoft has released an updated PC Health Check App that advises whether your PC can be updated to Windows 11.
This is the site Upgrade to the New Windows 11 OS | Microsoft
Scroll down and near the bottom there is a section “Check for compatibility”. Click on the link “DOWNLOAD PC HEALTH CHECK APP”
This will download the installer to your Downloads Folder. Install the program in the usual manner.
When the program is installed and is opened, at the top you will see “Introducing Windows 11” and a “Check Now” button to click.
If your PC is compatible, you will see this:
If not, this is the screen:
You don’t have to upgrade to Windows 11 but it is a free upgrade and support for Windows 10 will end in October 2025.
UPDATE
I notice that you now get this on – All Settings / Update and Security / Windows Update
OR THIS (on my NUC with a 7th generation Intel CPU)
I have 3 computers running Windows 10, and I decided check to see if I can upgrade to Windows 11 when it comes out.
Even though there are third party programs to check on compatibility, I don’t think that Microsoft has issued an official checking program.
Nevertheless, according to Microsoft this is what is needed https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications
The main requirements are:
Most recent computers should meet the other requirements (mine certainly do) so I carried checks for items 1,2 &3.
My Surface Pro 7 meets all requirements as does my most recent NUC.
However my original NUC has a 7th generation Core i5 CPU and Secure Boot is not available.You can turn on Secure Boot in UEFI but then the computer won’t boot into Win 10. Unlike my more recent NUC, where I just had to go into UEFI and turn it on.
HOW TO CHECK FOR TPM & SECURE BOOT
Open Command Prompt and
To check TPM, enter :
tpm.msc
This will bring up the TPM Management Screen (if available) which will show the version number.
Then enter the following to check Secure Boot:
msinfo32.exe
This brings up a System Information Summary screen that will show if Secure Boot is available and if it is on.
Last year when the new video game consoles were announced by Sony and Microsoft, I decided to prepare by replacing my HTPC with a NUC to make room for the PlayStation 5. While the new Xbox will fit in the space occupied by my existing Xbox One X, the PS5 is much larger than the PS4 Pro.
I don’t know why I bothered as, six months later, both the X Box Series X and PS5 are nowhere to be found.
I remember ignoring the pre-order offers from EB Games. I thought that, when they were released, I could just call at any store and pick up one of each. This has not been the case and the lack of availability is more or less the same world-wide.
However, the desire to get the shiny new toys has worn off and I am much less enthusiastic about upgrading. Now I will wait until stock is available. My existing consoles are working just fine. In fact, I might even wait for later models hopefully with more internal storage.
In the meantime, I have been considering what to do with my old HTPC.
It is about 7 years old, and I built it using a SilverStone ML03 HTPC Low Profile case with a mATX Motherboard as well as a reasonable GPU, TV Tuner Card and Sound Card with 5.1 surround output. The Intel CPU was old and did not have integrated graphics.
It was starting to have some problems so instead of getting rid of it, I decided to upgrade the motherboard and CPU and install Linux. I will probably stick with Ubuntu or Mint.
I won’t re- install the TV Tuner and Sound Cards. My new NUC (HTPC) does not have them, and I do not miss them. There is nothing on Broadcast TV that I watch. In any case, all the stations have streaming web sites. Furthermore, I can’t find Linux drivers for the old TV Tuner card. The Optical Drive is Blu-ray, but Ubuntu will not play commercial Blu-ray discs. Again, the web site for the drive offers no software downloads for Linux. My NUC HTPC also has no optical drive and, if I want to play a Blu-ray, I use the Xbox.
I did not want to spend much money, so I bought the cheapest mATX MB and a core i3 CPU (with Graphics). This kept the cost below AUD$270. I also used 2 X 4gb sticks of RAM that I had from another RAM upgrade.
Naturally, things did not go according to plan. The 24-pin power cord from the PSU is too short to reach the MB and there is only one fan header on this low-cost MB. The case has 2 fans. Therefore, I had to buy an extension power cord and a double adaptor for the fans.
This increased the cost to about AUD$300.
I was interested to see how the integrated graphics performed particularly after some minor issues with the NUC. Consequently, I tested it on my large screen 4K HDR TV. It recognises the TV but is best at 1920 X 1080. Whilst not 4K, the picture is fine on the TV and excellent on a normal monitor. (I have also set the NUC to this resolution.)
So, the set-up is a Core i3 with integrated graphics + 8gb RAM on a low price Asrock mATX Motherboard.
I re-used the following items from the previous build + left over RAM –
· PSU (Silverstone SFX 600W);
· Case (Silverstone ML03B);
· Optical Drive (Pioneer BDR-209EBK Blu Ray);
· SSD (OCZ 480GB);
· RAM 2 x 4gb DDR4.
I went with Ubuntu as the OS. (It is the OS I am familiar with but I have a spare SSD that I can swap in to try other distributions – later when I get time.)
It works well, even with a large screen 4K HDR TV as a monitor. A Core i3 with 8gb of memory is more than adequate for a normal computer running Linux.
