Desktop Media — Get a desktop icon for every drive you insert

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

By Deanna McElveen

Microsoft asks what you want to do whenever you insert any type of removable media, such as USB thumb drives, CDs, or DVDs.

But pay attention: you get only a few seconds to answer before the offer fades away. Too slow! Now you have to go hunting for the drive in Windows Explorer. Grrr.

We’ve been setting up limited-use computers for the Mennonite communities in our area for years. One little program that we install on every one of those computers is Desktop Media by Ian Perez. Although this handy program was last updated in 2011, it still does its job for Windows XP, Windows 11, and everything in between.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.33.0, 2024-08-12).

Home-networking primer

NETWORKING

By Ed Tittel

Nearly 9 out of 10 American households and businesses can access gigabit-speed Internet service. Now’s the time to up your home-networking ante and make the most of what’s available.

According to NCTA (the former National Cable & Telecommunications Association, now known at the Internet & Television Association), “most Americans have broadband at home.” Here’s a more interesting set of follow-on statistics.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.33.0, 2024-08-12).

Is virtualization right for you?

ON SECURITY

By Susan Bradley

With any major change from one OS version to another, such as the leap from Windows 10 to 11, I determine whether to keep the old version around, just to run an application that hasn’t yet made the leap.

I could keep an old PC on hand with the older OS and app. That might be useful if the older app has a more useful feature than the new version. It’s probably easier to do this in a business setting, where holding on to an old PC is less disruptive, but even home users can keep older technology if they’ve got the space.

The alternative is to create a virtual machine (VM) on the new PC — one that runs the old OS and thus the older app.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.33.0, 2024-08-12).

Can you wipe yourself off the web?

In a word, no.

Consumer reports released a report about personal removal services. They note ” Manual opt-outs were more effective than people-search removal services but
were also far from perfect.”

I will ocassionally get automatic data scrubbing requests and while I comply, I realize the futility in such requests. As while I can (and do) remove the person’s name, I can’t force archiving web sites to reindex and lose content.

What about you? Have you tried using these services?

MS-DEFCON 2: Microsoft and Apple betas near finish line

By Susan Bradley

Hold off on updates from both companies until they are fully vetted.

With so much activity around forthcoming Windows updates, continued caution is recommended. That’s why I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

I realize that the window between today and last week’s Alert has been brief. It’s just a matter of the calendar — more testing time was needed last month, and Patch Tuesday is next week.

Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.32.1, 2024-08-08).

August 2024 Office non-Security updates are now available

Office non-Security updates have been released Tuesday, August 6, 2024. They are not included in the DEFCON-3 approval for the July 2024 patches. Unless you have a specific need to install them, you should wait until Susan Bradley (Patch Lady) approves them and any problems have been reported.

Remember, Susan’s patching sequence and recommendations are based on a business environment that has IT support and may have time constraints on the updating process. Consumer patching should be more cautious due to limited technical and mechanical resources. The latter is the reason for the AskWoody DEFCON system.

Office 2016
Update for Microsoft Access 2016 (KB5002589)
Update for Microsoft Visio 2016 (KB5002582)

Office 2016 reached  End of Mainstream Support on October 13, 2020. EOS for Office 2016 is October 14, 2025.

Updates are for the .msi version (perpetual). Office 365 and C2R are not included.

Security updates for all supported versions of Microsoft Office are released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday).

How I learned to use my PC with a broken wrist

WINDOWS

By Lance Whitney

After fracturing my wrist in a recent fall, I had to figure out how to use the accessibility features built into Windows to work and write.

Despite my writing about the Windows accessibility features in a host of articles over the years, it wasn’t until this accident that I actually had to use them every day.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.32.0, 2024-08-05).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

Forum Top Ten lists!

FROM THE FORUMS

The forums are a centerpiece of AskWoody, allowing our community to engage with one another to solve problems, share insights, offer feedback, and add to our collective knowledge. (Not to mention keeping us in line.)

We appreciate both the questions and the ongoing willingness of forum members to participate.

Here’s a quick summary of posts from the first half of this year. We look forward to seeing what happens in the second half.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.32.0, 2024-08-05).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.