Newsletter Archives

• MS-DEFCON 1: Controlling features — 24H2 pushed hard

  Posted on February 6, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.05.1 • 2025-02-06

  

  By Susan Bradley

  If your machine is eligible for Windows 11 — meaning it ticks all the boxes for hardware compatibility — Windows 11 24H2 will download in preparation for installation, with no way to stop it.

  For right now, the only way to prevent this is to adjust Registry keys accordingly, and the simplest, fastest way to do so is with InControl.

  Although it’s time to pause until Patch Tuesday passes, the increased push by Microsoft for 24H2 is the key reason I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 1. Pay attention, and exercise caution.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (22.05.1, 2025-02-06).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Enablement Package, File sharing, KB5014754, KB5037754, KB5050081, NAS, Patch Lady Posts, System Recovery, Windows 11 24H2

• Real-life SSD reliability must be managed

  Posted on October 3, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  Solid-state drives did not have a very good week here recently, but it was not their fault.

  Here are the facts about a trifecta of mainstream laptops I handled recently, and why these laptops came up short. If you pay attention to the details here, you can improve the life and reliability of your solid-state drives (SSDs).

  I will also weave in my opinions and points of view on various related subjects.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.40.0, 2022-10-03).

  Hardware Hardware, Newsletters, Older PCs, SSDs, System Recovery

• Salvaging a fatally hacked PC

  Posted on March 14, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  A subscriber’s PC was commandeered by malware; even the administrator’s account is now inaccessible! How can this PC be safely returned to service, especially now that Windows 11 is closing some of the old back-door admin-access workarounds?

  Plus: Is Google’s Remote Desktop just another way for Google to snoop on us? Does using Remote Desktop create new privacy vulnerabilities?

  And: A question about analog versus digital audio in portable devices, and their relative effects on battery life.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.11.0 (2022-03-14).

  LangaList Audio, Google Remote Desktop, LangaList, Newsletters, Remote Desktop Connection, System Recovery