Newsletter Archives

• What Windows 11 24H2 offers beyond bugs

  Posted on March 31, 2025 at 02:43 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  If you can get past the persistent glitches, the 2024 flavor of Windows 11 does have some interesting and helpful new features.

  I’d long resisted updating my main laptop to Windows 11 24H2. Though I’d been running this version on a couple of virtual machines, I didn’t want to put one of my core PCs through the ringer. And that’s because Windows 24H2 had been plagued by bugs almost since its official release last October.

  Most major Windows updates are beset with glitches here and there. Before an official rollout of a new version, Microsoft strives to find as many flaws as possible through internal reviews and beta testing. But with so many different Windows PCs and environments in the world, finding every single problem or conflict is difficult — if not impossible.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.13.0, 2025-03-31).

  Windows 11 Camera, File Explorer, Newsletters, Sudo for Windows, Voice Clarity, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 7, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2, Windows Narrator, Windows Spotlight

• Home-networking primer

  Posted on August 12, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  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).

  Networking Cable, FIOS, Internet, Internet Speed, ISPs, Networking, Newsletters, Wi-Fi

• Wi-Fi 7? Why not!

  Posted on September 18, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  International standards bodies are just months away from finalizing a wireless networking improvement that’s being called Wi-Fi 7. When devices start supporting and using the new protocol, Wi-Fi 7 promises theoretical speeds far beyond what’s currently possible with Wi-Fi 6 (which was officially approved back in 2014).

  But don’t go out and buy all new stuff just yet. Theory is one thing, and reality is another. You may never see noticeably faster speeds from any Wi-Fi 7 devices you may own in the future. What are the reasons for this? I’m glad you asked.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.38.0, 2023-09-18).

  Public Defender 802.11be, Newsletters, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 7

• My day on jury duty

  Posted on July 31, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The last time I was called upon to perform my fundamental American civic duty was years ago. It hasn’t changed much, except for technology.

  There were bar codes, large displays that broadcast PowerPoint slides, and a YouTube video that explained jury service. That video went so far as to explain who sat where in the courtroom. (I thought that was obvious, but apparently I have watched way too many Perry Mason episodes.)

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.31.0, 2023-07-31).

  On Security Android, iPhone, Lockdown Mode, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Routers, Travel, Wi-Fi

• Why Wi-Fi 6, aka 802.11ax, for wireless?

  Posted on June 21, 2021 at 02:43 CDT by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  Now that there is broad availability of routers compatible with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, it’s easy to ask, “What’s in it for me?”

  There is a myriad of devices that are compatible with the 802.11ac specification, from laptops to cell phones to tablets to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. But the 802.11ac spec is not without limitations.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.23.0 (2021-06-21).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Wi-Fi 802.11ax, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Networking, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6

• Wi-Fi vulnerabilities affect all

  Posted on May 24, 2021 at 01:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  FragAttacks is a newly discovered set of vulnerabilities that, when exploited, allows an adversary to steal data by intercepting a network.

  For once, a threat may be less dangerous than advertised.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.19.0 (2021-05-24).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, On Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Security, Wi-Fi

• Is Wi-Fi security irretrievably broken?

  Posted on October 15, 2017 at 19:45 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  There’s a lot of buzz this weekend about a flaw that’s purported to break security on most Wi-Fi connections, allowing an eavesdropper to snoop or use the connection without permission.

  Said to involve CVE-2017-13077, 13078, 13079, 13080, 13081, 13082, 13084, 13086, 13087, 13088, when they’re posted.

  See this thread from @campuscodi and be watching Bleepingcomputer tomorrow for details.

  Security CVE, Vulnerability, Wi-Fi, WPA2, WPS

• ELSA: How the CIA tracked the location of an infected PC using WiFi signals

  Posted on June 28, 2017 at 08:28 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  The latest WikiLeaks release talks about ELSA, reportedly a CIA project that allowed the government (and now, apparently, everybody) to snoop on the location of an infected PC.

  ELSA is a geo-location malware for WiFi-enabled devices like laptops running the Micorosoft Windows operating system. Once persistently installed on a target machine using separate CIA exploits, the malware scans visible WiFi access points and records the ESS identifier, MAC address and signal strength at regular intervals. To perform the data collection the target machine does not have to be online or connected to an access point; it only needs to be running with an enabled WiFi device. If it is connected to the internet, the malware automatically tries to use public geo-location databases from Google or Microsoft to resolve the position of the device and stores the longitude and latitude data along with the timestamp.

  Clever.

  Windows Patches/Security CIA, ELSA, Wi-Fi