Daily Archives: November 8, 2020

• A changing of the guard at AskWoody.com

  Posted on November 8, 2020 at 21:20 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  ASKWOODY.COM

  By Woody Leonhard

  I’m retiring.

  But AskWoody marches on — in new but familiar, and highly capable, hands.

  I was nudged into retirement by a combination of medical concerns, family obligations … and a screaming desire to turn my attention to interests outside the computer industry.

  So it’s my great pleasure to announce that Patch Lady Susan Bradley will be taking up leadership of the cause — as major-domo of AskWoody.com, as managing editor of the AskWoody Newsletters, as guiding light of the @AskWoody twitter charge — and, most importantly, as a spiritual advisor to gazillions of disenfranchised Microsoft customers. She also has a new column in Computerworld: Microsoft Patch Lady.

  I’ve known and worked with Susan for decades, and she is as familiar to long-time Windows Secrets subscribers as a favorite old hat. Part of the original Windows Secrets team and a regular contributor to the AskWoody newsletter, she also moderates the patchmanagement.org mailing list and writes pivotal security columns for the CSO website. In her day-job guise, Susan is an IT admin and forensic investigator at a well-known CPA firm.

  We’ve always known Susan for her perspicacious pursuit of patching problems … and their resolution.

  What a long and strange trip it’s been

  Life’s changed in extraordinary ways since my first “meatspace” book “Windows 3.1 Programming for Mere Mortals” (Amazon) appeared 28 years ago. Windows has evolved from a rickety infrastructure built on top of a wobbly operating system to a wobbly operating system in its own right.

  I don’t miss the original bug-ridden incarnations of Windows. But I do miss the fire and vision that drove the unqualified success of Windows XP and Win7. And I’ll continue to rail against the flaws that are introduced — and sometimes re-introduced — with every round of updates.

  Microsoft has a long history of Windows patching issues. Some things never change, eh?

  On a personal note, I’m back in Thailand. We survived two weeks of quarantine and are now free to visit family and friends all over the country. I think of it as an extended vacation, camping out while the U.S. struggles with the pandemic. Eventually, we’ll be back in the States, but the “when” is an open question.

  Most importantly, rest assured that the “Open for business” sign remains lit at AskWoody. And we’re still standing up for the little guy. I’ll continue to drop in from time to time — just to contribute my two cents. But the ongoing effort to guide and help all personal-computer users is now in new and much more capable hands.

  So long to all AskWoody supporters. I’ve already been warned by Susan that I must pop in every now and then to offer insights about technology outside of the Redmond bubble — better known as the real world we all actually live in.

  And thanks for all the fish!

  AskWoody, AskWoody Plus Newsletter AskWoody Plus Newsletter, New leadership

• RemotePC: An excellent tool for accessing and controlling PCs

  Posted on November 8, 2020 at 21:15 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  REMOTE ACCESS

  By Lance Whitney

  I’ve used a variety of remote-access applications over the years, but one remains my favorite.

  iDrive’s RemotePC is reasonably priced, easy to use, and filled with helpful features.

  The one drawback? Using RemotePC requires a subscription — there’s no free edition. But that’s okay if you’re an individual or small-to-medium business that needs reliable connections among a variety of client and host systems.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.44.0 (2020-11-09).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Remote Access AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Remote access, Remote support

• Windows’ built-in Reliability Monitor

  Posted on November 8, 2020 at 21:10 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  This hidden gem of an app usually can pinpoint — in copious detail! — exactly what’s causing PC glitches.

  Built into every copy of Windows, it’s also easy to invoke and use. Plus: Updated information on Performance Monitor’s erratic /report option.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.44.0 (2020-11-09).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Performance Monitor, Windows performance, Windows reliability

• A few smallish gremlins still infest Win10 20H2 and 2004

  Posted on November 8, 2020 at 21:05 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  By Susan Bradley

  With the release of Windows 10 20H2, May’s Version 2004 has moved into an elder-sibling role.

  But that doesn’t mean that the spring update no longer has growing pains. Currently in the process of upgrading my systems to Version 2004, I’ve not run into any significant problems. But that’s not the case for everyone.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.44.0 (2020-11-09).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, group policy, Win10 2004, Win10 20H2, Windows upgrades

• Following a trail of utilities

  Posted on November 8, 2020 at 21:00 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  SHORTS

  By TB Capen

  It’s always a bit surprising how researching one topic can lead you to others.

  In this case, it started with an AskWoody Lounge post about the classic FTP app FileZilla.

  A forum member was concerned that the FileZilla download files reportedly contain malware. That’s unlikely, but a free version of the app currently does include “sponsoring” software

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.44.0 (2020-11-09).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, FTP, system information, Virus scanners