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Yes, we knew Costco had a 3 month return policy.  I am just glad I got to the bottom of the BSOD issues.  Returning to 21H2 and using InControl to keep it there for now.  If anyone is looking for an all-in-one I would stay away from the 32 inch HP that Costco sells as it overheated pretty bad.  Even rolling back the OS might not salvage that computer.

Watch out For Windows 11 22H2 if you buy a new computer especially if you use it in the office.  I have worked on 3 separate Windows 11 computers recently and all have the same issue with a BSOD KMODE EXCEPTION error.  They also all have an Intel Core i7 12 gen processor.  My boss also has a WIndows 11 computer with an 11th gen Core i7 processor with 22H2 that has no issues.  I rolled back to 21H2 and am hoping to spend a few months with it before even contemplating a major update.  These are from 2 manufacturers: Dell and HP.  The HP by far had way more issues.  2 of the computers were all-in-one devices and the HP not only weighed a lot but but was prone to overheating.  This led to a BSOD almost hourly at one point and a BIOS update got it down to 1 BSOD per day.  That was the best I could hope for on that computer.  Anyway, if you have a 12th gen Intel processor, I would stay away from 22H2 for now.  That was the main commonality between the machines.

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TaskForce141

I often use Print Friendly to export the content to PDF.  However, if you use NoScript you have to add the site to your whitelist, or it won’t work.  I also find I like the interface in Firefox better than Chrome and its derivatives.  I also store my finds in my Bookmarks which I now store in BookmarkOS.com which offers a very good free plan as well as paid.  I also tend to print my finds so I can make notes on them as I go because often there are missing steps and I have to know for the future any corrections.  Then I can use a PDF editor to update my notes.

I know Windows doesn’t give much control over updates these days.  I just came across Windows Update Blocker (https://www.sordum.org/9470/windows-update-blocker-v1-7/) which brings back some control over updates.  Sordum has many useful tools which I use; so I was happy when I noticed this.  It’s easy to Enable or Disable updates.  While there are other ways to accomplish this; this seems very simple and easy for most users.

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unstablecomic

One more note I tried 4t Tray Minimizer and it could not minimize Distant Desktop to the tray. So I submitted this as a request for a future version. Running as a service would be better but minimizing to the tray would be a good start.

[leland]

Another program you can use as a backup for remote access is NoMachine (www.nomachine.com).  It supports multiple platforms and comes in free and commercial versions.  Last time I used it it was complicated to setup but I expect that has improved.

I also use AnyDesk like many have mentioned here and it truly is great for unattended mode.  Another remote access program I have used is LiteManager.  It also supports multiple platforms.  I haven’t used it recently but at the time it was not too hard to setup.  It comes in a free and Pro version with the Pro being a paid version and both have unattended mode.

A quick test of Distant Desktop shows you can set it up to start with Windows and set a permanent password.  So it has a psuedo unattended mode setup this way.  However there is no way to minimize to the tray without third party software.  It did feel pretty fast in my quick test; probably about 10% faster than Anydesk on screen scrolling.  However I did not use it long enough yet to make a definitive review.   Overall it can be useful though there is no way to alias connection addresses at the moment so you need to use your password manager or something similar to store those addresses.  One last thing if you close it your psuedo unattended mode ends.  Be sure to leave it running at all times when you need to use it.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by leland.

Anydesk is great because of the number of platforms supported and you can use the free versions forever for personal use or a reasonably priced business version.  If you install a plugin you can even control your Android devices and give each device a unique alias for easy access.  You do have to pay to get the address book but it remembers all the devices you access so that is not an issue.

Directory Opus has it’s own context menu items separate from Windows.  Hence removing something from Windows context menus will not necessarily remove it from Opus.  I would look in the user manual or go to the Directory Opus Resource Centre to get better guidance.  Directory Opus is almost as complicated as operating system by itself so investing time learning it is the only way to really get full use of it.  If as you say you are a simple user using another Explorer replacement might be the best way to simplify your life.  Hence only one place to look for context menus.  Good luck.

I myself use Solid Explorer on Android to access my file shares on my networks.  This way I side step any Windows compatibility issues and is accessed the SMB file shares just fine. All transfers are through WiFi.

However I may be hooking it up for ADB access in the near future.  If I do I will do some further testing at that point.  I have used Windows 10 1607 and Android 5.1.1, 6.0.1 on a Samsung Note 4 and currently I just got a LG V20 VS995 with Android 7.0.  No promises as to how quickly I will get to the testing as life has a way of sucking up all my time…

This seems to be a common problem from Excel 2007 through at least 2013 (possibly 2016 but I haven’t used that version yet). I came across a good article for solving issues like this at https://www.add-ins.com/support/out-of-memory-or-not-enough-resource-problem-with-microsoft-excel.htm

Leland
🙂

I just did some additional testing and can state TeamViewer can adjust to screen resolution changes on the fly. I have tried this with versions 9 and 10.

I used HotKey Resolution Changer (http://funk.eu/hrc/) to reset the resolution on the fly (you can right click the tray icon or set your own keyboard combo plus you define the resolutions you use so no extra stuff to get in the way).

Anyone needing to change the resolution for whatever mobile platform or Mac you are using will find this a simple method. For those going from PC to PC the best bet is to set the resolution as I detailed above as it will only change it while remoted in and then change it back when you quit TeamViewer.

Leland
🙂

I have found CCleaner to be slow at secure deletions of files so using it to scour a drive seems like it would not be the best tool for the job.

I was recently sanitizing some drives at work and found Hardwipe (http://www.hardwipe.com/) which I found to be fast and efficient at it’s job. It can securely delete files or sanitize a whole drive. I had been using Eraser to securely delete files on systems until I found this tool. Now I have one tool to do it all.

Now if the drive is not working I would disassemble the drive and destroy the platters (bending, drilling or any other method you care to use) or drill holes through the drive thus making data recovery an impossibility. Drives are not that expensive the replace these days so it is a very secure way to dispose of the data without worry if you are in a hurry.

Fred, one thing you did not address was CPU usage. I find in single core machines MSE often spikes the CPU up to 60+% and often stays there almost like it is hung. Restarting the service fixes the problem. It seems there is some issue with the realtime scanning of files that causes the service to get stuck. On my machines I have used Process Lasso to look for the condition and restart the service when it happens. However it would be nice if there was a fix from Microsoft but then what do you expect for free? I expect it to work without issues but then that is what I have gotten used to with Avast. Every antivirus seems to have some issues; some more than others. It just seems to me we need to look at all issues. I see you used a virtual machine; can you provide a little more detail about the setup of the machine? I have not seen the issue on dual core machines or above so I am thinking it is an issue with older hardware. Thanks.

Leland

For testing the firewall there are some more sites that may be of interest; first Test My PC Security at http://www.testmypcsecurity.com/ Another site that has plenty of tests for firewalls and more is Audit My PC at http://www.auditmypc.com/ This later site also links to various security related programs and content to help you secure your computer if you find a problem. Another security scan that might be of interest is from GFI EndPointScan at http://www.gfi.com/endpointscan/ However this is not specifically for finding firewall leaks; and is more geared towards administrators of networks. Still in the battle against malware we need all the tools we can find.

And for those of you wanting to do testing on your own local machine without using a web based test check out Matousec at http://www.matousec.com/ and specifically their Proactive Security Challenge as they are constantly testing different security products and updating their tests used to help you find the best security software available. This site will do testing also for a fee for security software companies and as such some question the validity but overall I think it is a great reference to use in keeping your computer free and all malware. Their testing software suite is also available for download to use on your machine; just be careful as the results may cause crashes.

Leland

Thanks Bruce..
I know… processes on my computer (s) that are using the internet. What I was hoping for was something that monitored events that do not.. originate on my computer, something that tells me when my wireless is being accessed.. from the other side.

Most software firewalls will do what you are thinking of. There are Online Armor http://www.tallemu.com (currently supports x86 with x64 support in beta testing now), Comodo (now only available as part of their suite though you can pick and chose which components you want) http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html (support for x86 and x64 computers), and many more. There are much more powerful than firewalls of the past so you will need some time to tinker with it and learn. I can tell you the Online Armor team is a friendly bunch (I am a tester of it) and has a great forum where you can get questions answered. If setup right it will not only alert you but give you the opportunity to block the requests. I have also tried Comodo and it works fine to though I found OA easier to use on a daily basis.

Leland