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ON SECURITY

The perils of Bitcoin; the promise of blockchain

“Bitcoin relies on an untrusted consensus” What on earth does that mean? Any currency that fell in value from 1000 to 400 would be a disaster; even the Euro does better than that (well, so far). Any valid currency needs to be backed by something solid: assets, ability to repay. Bitcoin has nothing.

Following a new set of updates received by both PCs late on Friday, the connection is restored. They can see and transfer files between each other.

I guess I just keep my fingers crossed until the next set of updates.

One possible cause is the use of a login PIN in Win 10 instead of a password. If you use passwords for private file and folder sharing then I’ve read elsewhere that the PIN login ithereafter nterferes with networked pc’s seeing each other.

I think you may be on to something although neither PC has a login password or PIN but the network password is that generated by the master PC when creating the network. Curious that nobody else has reported this.

More truthful words never spoken have been. I just realised that Yoda speaks English but as though translating from Latin.

Why do I need Task View or Virtual Desktops? I know what I am doing. I don’t have a scatter brain that tries to do everything (badly) at the same time. Do it once, do it right and get on with making some money. Cortana? To spy on what I search for? Gimme a break. File Explorer with the cursed Ribbon? You must be joking; try adding a destination to the “copy to” menu – there’s no way but you could do that back in XP. Touch screen on a desktop? If you are sitting that close to today’s 20″+ screens, you are too close.
What I want from a new OS is speed, to boot and and operate, not boot to screen but disk thrash for 15 minutes so any action is delayed. I want small size so that half my phone/tablet memory is the OS. I want an update that installs on Intel Atom devices, not one that takes all night but gives up at day break and leaves me to re-install Win7. And I want Media Center back now you have destroyed the competition by giving it away free.

I was highly amused with your, Oh so simple replacement of a power supply. The only time I had to do this it wasn’t just unplug the wires, pop in the new unit and bingo!

To get the old unit out (remember they always need to slide into the case once you undo the fixing screws) I had to remove the hard drives and DVD to allow it to move backwards into the case; remove the CPU cooler and fan to allow it to turn, which, as the CPU cooler and fan screws are under the motherboard, meant removing the whole shebang. OK, as I assembled the whole thing from components in the first place, that was not a problem for me but how many of your readers assemble their own systems these days?

I use Eudora 7 on 2 Win7 64 bit machines, no problems. Before set up, create a folder on another partition or drive called Eudora Mailboxes. During set up when asked where you want to put your mail boxes, put them there. That way whenever you need to back up or sync between machines, just copy the contents of that folder to the other.

Not only does this leave my mailboxes in a easily accessible place (from the Command prompt in emergency) rather than at the bottom of a directory tree, the individual files are visible rather than clumped together in a “profile” which needs the parent program to access. Even when Eudora itself is not present I can read the relevant mailbox files, email address book etc in a text editor like Notepad

Woody, old fruit,

your article reads as though you don’t quite approve of mouse users; they are perhaps a little antediluvian. Maybe so but I have been using Win 7 for 2 years now on a 23 inch touch-screen all-in-one desktop. I am 6ft 3in with very long arms but at no time do I feel compelled to reach forward and touch the screen. At a comfortable viewing distance, about a yard, I can reach the screen but why would I? I have a mouse just here.

When it first arrived I did fiddle about playing Angry Birds but practically never since then.

As the desktop is the only time I use Windows these days (my phone and tablet are Android and are unlikely to change), then I suggest that the desktop is the only place Windows and the mouse can prosper, until the Android/Linux people get their act in order that is.

I completely fail to see the point of RSS feeds. Don’t you have newspapers? Are your lives so empty you must know this stuff, most of which is rubbish. Would not a complete story with comments from knowledgeable sources be more informative? This is for the braindead.

I have already posted in reply to the lead article in this week’s newsletter but seeing your problem here is the gist.

IE10 installer shut down everything including Windows Explorer so that my desktop disappeared. I have tried out many browsers on this PC and my tablet; nothing is this drastic.

Fortunately, when it rebooted everything came back on including a Trojan! At least Security Essentials picked it up in the IE temporary internet files folder.

On Monday this week by coincidence, I was trying IE9 (I normally use Firefox but in an idle moment). Then I thought isn’t IE10 out soon and followed the links to the MS site.

I downloaded and ran the installer and what an installer for just a browser update! It shut down everything including Security Essentials and even Windows Explorer so that my desktop vanished. Eventually it rebooted and almost immediately Security Essentials picked up Trojan:JS/Seedabutor.B in the IE temporary internet files folder.

Obviously I let it delete the file and ran a full scan.

Now I don’t use IE at all and only last week ran CCleaner and MyDefrag for a monthly clean up. That Trojan must have come from MS.

Worst of all there seems to be no way to report this to MS. I tried for half an hour to find an email address, I even rang the switchboard, twice, but just ended up dumped in a circle of “press 2 for this, press 5 for that.” I gave up but maybe you guys have a back door to knock on?

My Win 7 installation takes up 30 Gb of disk. It’s a clunker. Takes 2 minutes to start up to a useable screen. My new Win 7 PC is too big to lug around. My older one, Win XP, is separate bits, a box, a screen, a mouse, keyboard. Both use Intel hardware: heavy, noisy, energy draining. My Android/ARM phone does everything, almost, that they do.

The advantage of the Wintel PC is screen size (for spreadsheets and such). It’s upgradeable, yes, but how upgradeable is a Wintel laptop and try getting one fixed when the graphics chip overheats! I have one under the desk in a bag.

Will Win8 be any less demanding of disk space and hardware? Quien sabe? Will Intel ever bring out an ARM style chip?

I’ll buy a tablet, probably an Asus prime and I’ll keep my Wintel PC for basic office tasks, scanning, faxing. But the day Dell or somebody brings out an ARM/Android desktop with a 23″ screen, they’ll get my money and Microsoft and Intel will be history.

But the day Dell or somebody brings out an ARM/Android desktop with a big screen they get my money.

Just to be contrary, I found my NoRecentDocs setting under

Code:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer

What do I want fromWindows 8?
I want a return to XP (and previous) style, structured menus. I need to see what’s there, not have to guess as with the Win7 Start.
I want “instant on”. Not a minimum of I minute plus as 47 things load. It would be nice if “Sleep” worked consistently rather than an 80% chance of a re-awakening.
I want an OS that doesn’t require 30 gigabytes just for itself. My Win3.11 PC had a 300 megabyte hard disk.
I want an OS that doesn’t Blue Screen regularly over software faults like IPv6 drivers issued by Microsoft.
I want an OS that does not try to load everything onto the C: drive.
I don’t need silly games, I can download Angry Birds.
I don’t need screen savers and “themes” whatever they are.
I don’t need “tiles” or half a dozen desktops.
I don’t need Media Player, IE, Windows Live, Silverlight and a dozen other things. If they are worthwhile, then make them available for download. It was different back in 1993, we didn’t have the Net. If we did, it was at what seem ludicrously slow speeds nowadays.
I don’t need “Libraries”, pulling in every odd .wav or whatever file. I know where my stuff is, or I did before Win7.
I don’t need an OS that requires massive, power hungry processors and other expensive hardware.
In short, if you are going to emulate the iPad/Android ‘phone experience, forget touch screens and go for the slimmed down, minimum power demand, instant on, simple interface that “just works”.

Interesting development; some how, I don’t know how, I have enabled sound for Firefox but not the system sounds. When I go to the catch-up TV page I get the full 1080p picture and sound but none of the beeps, burps and jingles, which Windows uses.

Frankly, that’s a result I can live with. I’ve wasted enough time on this. There must be some obscure setting but who knows.

Thanks again to Jerry for the suggestions. I just wish I could tell you how I did it.