MS-DEFCON 4: July updates make some hot and bothered

By Susan Bradley

Access bugs ruin a quiet July, but we can still lower MS-DEFCON to 4.

To any reader of this alert who is sweltering in a heat wave, my sincere condolences. I can slightly relate, as I’m having the normal July heat wave in my neck of the woods.

The big difference is that my area of the country is used to this weather. Thus I’m inside an air-conditioned home, remotely accessing office workstations and servers to perform the monthly maintenance tasks while some of you are … well … just really hot and really uncomfortable. Fortunately for us, this month’s Windows and Office updates were mostly well behaved.

Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (19.30.1, 2022-07-25).

Solo collaboration: Office’s untold advantage

MICROSOFT 365

By Peter Deegan

Modern Office app “collaboration” features are hyped by Microsoft for businesspeople to share a document. But all those features — comments, tracking, versioning, and multi-computer access — are available and useful for solo, personal work, too.

Using the collaboration tools on your own is an easy way to become confident with those features without embarrassing yourself — nobody is looking over your shoulder. The same tools are useful to help you manage a complex document by leaving notes and reminders to yourself. The also help you recall deleted text and access the latest version from wherever you are.

I’ll focus on Word in this article because it has the most comprehensive collaboration features. The same tips apply generally to Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and even a little bit for Outlook.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

Make semiconductor chips without wasting water? Intel says it can.

PUBLIC DEFENDER

By Brian Livingston

Semiconductor manufacturing requires water, and a lot of it. But the Intel Corporation, one of the world’s largest operators of fabrication facilities, announced recently that it’s on track by the year 2030 to deliver to local communities 100% as much clean water as its plants use — and that the company is already generating more than 100% in some countries.

How is that possible? If fabs require water to run their manufacturing processes, how could a chip maker end up with more water than it uses?

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

Do we really want (or need) Windows 12?

PATCH WATCH

By Susan Bradley

The famous old idiom “moving the deckchairs around on the Titanic” is sometimes applied to technology.

Even though the saying usually implies the futility of a particular action, it often conjures up to me a technology company doing something — anything — to encourage us to purchase more of their product — or at least the latest, so-called greatest version. In my experience, it’s not what we really want but what the vendor thinks we need.

Case in point? Rumors are flying that Windows 12 is just around the corner.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

The worst software in the world

COMMENTARY

By Will Fastie

If I were grading the various apps in Microsoft’s Casual Games collection, they’d be lucky to get a D.

It’s not because the games themselves are bad. It’s because they are all based on the same underlying game engine, one designed with multiple capabilities. The emphasis on the engine has diverted attention away from the games themselves, which have been in general disrepair for some time.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

Got an older computer?

Summertime maintenance tip for an older computer:

Open it up.

Seriously, open up the computer case and take a look inside. Chances are it may look a bit like this:

That’s the actual inside of a Windows 7 computer that  I had at the office. Even if you decide to keep an older Windows 7 or 8.1 or … in a few years a Windows 10 after it’s end of life occurs, make sure you take the time to give your computer some physical maintenance to the computer hardware itself.  You will probably find dust bunnies like crazy inside any computer that’s been sitting on or near the ground.

Dust can cause your computer to overheat.  It can also cause symptoms like…

• Computer refuses to turn on at all?
• Computer works for a while and then randomly shuts off without warning?
• Laptop keyboard gets hot after several hours of use?
• Computer seems to slow down and runs sluggish the longer it is running?
• Strange buzzing or whistling noises suddenly start coming from your computer?

So open up that case and see what’s in there.  Even if you don’t plan to upgrade the RAM or hard drive make sure you review how clean it is inside.

Then take alcohol and clean the keyboard. Or consider investing in a new one. Often when someone asks me for advice about buying a computer, I tell them to go to a physical store and try out the keyboards of laptops. Often each manufacturer puts a unique “spin” on their keyboards. The Apple like flat keyboards don’t work well for me.  Other brands can have a wrist rest area that is so huge that it makes the keyboard uncomfortable.  The youngsters at the office that have Apple devices love their Apple keyboards so much that we buy them an apple keyboard and mouse for their Windows devices. (Tip get this software for those Apple keyboards on your windows devices)

Bottom line, this summertime tip — clean up the inside of your desktop style computer and clean that keyboard. You will find that both are really dirty and ….. well…..quite disgusting.

Microsoft rolls out macro blocking again

Microsoft announced they are once again beginning the rollout to block macros in Office files downloaded from the Internet.

Personally I would make sure that you aren’t using any Office macros in files that you haven’t removed the “mark of the web”. Remember to right mouse click a file, go into properties and see if there is an “unblock” button. When in doubt you can upload a suspicious file to www.virustotal.com just to be sure it’s not a malicious file.

Apple is out with security fixes – July 2022

💻 macOS Monterey 12.5 – 56 bugs fixed
📱 iOS and iPadOS 15.6 – 39 bugs fixed
💻 Security Update 2022-005 Catalina – 38 bugs fixed
💻 macOS Big Sur 11.6.8 – 32 bugs fixed
📺 tvOS 15.6 – 28 bugs fixed

Safari 15.6 – 3 bugs fixed

watchOS 8.7 – 27 bugs fixed

(see also here)

Bazzmanzam called it and jinxed it.  I’ll be keeping an eye on any side effects and report in the next alert.