Newsletter Archives
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Freeware Spotlight — ccPortable
Sometimes, great software can fall out of grace with its users, often due to bad decisions (or perceived bad decisions) by its authors.
A classic example is Piriform’s CCleaner. First launched in 2004, it was a wildly popular system cleaner, trusted by millions of PC users as safe, effective, and free. For years it was on most must-have-utilities lists.
But then things when wrong. It might have been a sad end to a once excellent product, but PortableApps.com saved the day.
Out today in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.22.0.
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Did Firefox suddenly forget all of your passwords? Blame Avast. Again
If Firefox suddenly forgot all of your passwords in the past day or so, blame Avast.
It looks like Avast Antivirus and AVG Antivirus are both blocking the file that Firefox uses to store passwords. Your passwords are still there. You just need a new version of Avast or AVG.
Martin Brinkmann has the details on ghacks:
Firefox, just like any other modern browser, supports the saving of authentication information to improve the sign-in process on websites. Instead of having to enter the passwords manually each time they are requested, Firefox would provide the password when needed.
Firefox saves the data in the file logins.json in the Firefox profile folder.
Reports suggest that Avast and AVG security applications cause the issue for Firefox users. It appears that the software programs somehow corrupt the login.json file so that Firefox cannot read it anymore.
Lawrence Abrams on BleepingComputer has the inside story:
In a Mozilla bug post about this issue, Lukáš Rypáček, an engineering director at Avast, explained that the AVG Password Protection program will block a process’ access to saved logins unless the process is signed by a known and valid Firefox certificate. As Mozilla had issued a new certificate on 5/31/2019 and signed Firefox 67.0.2 with it, but AVG had not included it in the AVG Password Protection program, the Firefox processes were being blocked.
Apparently Avast has released updates to fix the problem.
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Freeware Spotlight — Graph Paper Printer
If you provide IT services to schools, here’s a utility that should make teachers very happy!
Graph Paper Printer is a tiny, flexible, and portable app that lets you print all sorts of graph-paper styles, from simple squares to music manuscripts — to other’s … well, we don’t know what they’re used for.
See the full story in the June 10, 2019, AskWoody Plus Newsletter (Issue 16.21.0)
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Deanna’s Freeware Spotlight: SwiftSearch
Tired of trying to get Windows’ slow search routine to cooperate with your hard drive? Take a look at SwiftSearch, the freeware pick of the week from Deanna at OlderGeeks.com.
Take a look in this morning’s AskWoody Plus Newsletter issue 16.18.0.
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Deanna’s Freeware Spotlight: USBFlashCopy
I bet you have a gazillion USB drives hanging around. I do, and I’m constantly trying to figure out which one(s) I can re-use without destroying something valuable. There’s a solution: Back up your USB drives before you obliterate them.
Freeware guru Deanna from OlderGeeks.com has a solution: USBFlashCopy automatically backs up your USB drives (and memory cards) when they’re plugged into your PC.
Full instructions out this morning in AskWoody Plus Newsletter issue 16.17.0.
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Deanna’s Freeware Spotlight: Desktop Restore
Ever have your desktop icons move when you reboot or switch screen resolution?
Randy and Deanna at The Older Geeks have a solution for you. There’s a free Windows Shell Extension from Jamie O’Connell at Midiox called Desktop Restore that lets you save your icon positions, give each configuration a name, and swap among them.
More brilliant, free and crap-free software from Deanna McElveen at OlderGeeks.com
Details in this week’s AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.15.0, out this morning to AskWoody Plus Members.
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Deanna’s Freeware Spotlight: DiskInternals Linux Reader v3.3
Dual boot Linux? Need to access your Linux partition or drive from Windows?
Need to recover data from a customer’s Ext2/3/4, ReiserFS, Reiser4, HFS, HFS+, FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS or UFS2 formatted drive but all you have with you is your Windows laptop?
This is the tool for you!
The program only allows read-only access so as not to damage the file system. It also ignores file security policies so you can grab anything you need.
Download from OlderGeeks.com:
https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/file.php?id=2403