QuickTime fiasco: typical Apple, cut and run.

Adobe on QuickTime: You're up the creek without a paddle

Apple has to be the Teflon giant of American industry.  Now that their screwed up media player QuickTime has been found to be a security risk to Windows users, Apple has chose to cut and run with no resolution for millions of users.

“It always seemed as if the Windows version [of QuickTime] was designed by Steve Jobs to punish us. Bundled with iTunes for many years, annoying to install and update, unstable, and with crappy performance: It really sucked. So along with many other Windows users, I deleted it years ago and my online life was immediately brighter.”

This latest foul up along with the erroneous assumption that malware and viruses do not exist in the Apple realm and the fanboys still give it a pass.  Of course the majority of Apple users aren't using their computer beyond email and web surfing to begin with.  Only the cloud will enable the platform to become a viable platform for work.

If you have QuickTime and are not an Adobe Creative Cloud user go ahead and uninstall it.

Why this matters: On Friday the Department of Homeland Security advised Windows users to remove QuickTime once it became clear that Apple had washed its hands of QuickTime for good, leaving two outstanding security holes in it. But, although Apple’s own iTunes for Windows no longer depends on QuickTime, several of Adobe’s video-focused applications such as Premiere Pro and After Effects install QuickTime by default. 

Apple's iTunes for Windows no longer depends on QuickTime however a lot of Apple's software installs QuickTime by default.  As of Monday afternoon the download for QuickTime was still available on Apple's website.

For Adobe's Creative Cloud users there is no quick fix:

This hasn’t left the graphics community with a warm feeling.

Chris Dickman, founding editor of graphic- and design-focused website Graphics.com, had harsh words for Adobe after the news broke.

”Unfortunately? Let me paraphrase that for you: ‘We didn’t see this coming, your systems are compromised if you keep using our software and we will make no commitment to fixing this,’” Dickman said in a blog post. “Sweet. Of course, Windows users are just expected to suck that up. Although all hell would have broken loose if Adobe’s Mac-based video community had been put at similar risk,” he added.

It reminds me of one client, a heavy computer user who purchased a Mac last year but returned it after a couple of weeks.  "I thought they were supposed to be easy to use" he said.  They are if you're not doing anything to begin with.

to read more:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3058312/security/adobe-on-quicktime-youre-up-the-creek-without-a-paddle.html

New 6th Generation Intel Processors

30x Better 3D graphics vs. a 5 year old PC

2.5x Better productivity vs a 5 year old PC

Get Creative, Play Harder,striking visuals in higher resolution, faster frame rates, Ultra HD 4K multimedia experiences.  With a 6th generation Intel® Core™ processor inside, you can watch, play, and game like never before.  Bring the action to life.

Microsoft Security Phone Scam

Microsoft's advice: Hang up on tech support scammers ...

In light of the second client to fall victim to Tech support phone scammers, I am writing this post today to warn everyone to hang up on anyone calling to tell you that your computer is infected or sending viruses/Trojans.  An alternative method used by these criminals is to send an email claiming to assist you in receiving the Windows 10 upgrade.

If you receive an email or phone call from someone claiming to represent Microsoft, press ‘delete’ or just hang up. Never give remote access to your computer to anyone you don’t know, and don’t click on unknown links or files.

If you are willing to lend an ear to the scammer the next step is they will request access to your computer via Remote Desktop.  Once in they will steal information, erase restore/recovery points and encrypt the SAM hive of your computer and upon restart you will be required to enter a password that you do not know.

How these scams work

• You receive an email or phone call claiming either that you can get a Windows 10 upgrade sooner, or, that there is some problem with your installation of Windows 10.
• You will be directed to click on a link or visit a website to download software.
• The software is ransomware which will lock you out of your computer and demand a payment.
• If you pay, you will lose every cent that you send. If you have clicked on an infected link or file, you may also compromise your device’s security in other ways.

The client yesterday had 2 computers compromised. I was able to recover one of the computers using System Restore, he had hung up on the scammer while he was working on this computer after being presented the cost to supposedly fix the computer.


The other computer was unrecoverable since the scammer had erased restore points, disabled all programs and upon restart the computer needed the unknown password. We had to do a new install of Windows 10 on this computer.

*Remember that Macs do get malware and it highly advised that you install an Anti-Virus product on your Mac.

Since these scams use a website, any device that has a browser can fall victim to this type of scam. They’re not OS dependent so if your internet enabled-toaster has a screen and a web browser it could get this type of alert! Joking aside, since it’s a browser-based scam, it’s advisable to have a backup browser installed just in case you have issues with your primary browser.

Further reading,

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2998175/security/microsofts-advice-hang-up-on-tech-support-scammers.html

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001385.htm

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-security/does-microsoft-or-a-microsoft-call-center-ever/33968898-8371-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/mse-protect_scanning/phone-call-scams-claiming-to-be-microsoft/aefc50a4-d7a4-4c79-8db5-2fafcd6ad196?auth=1

New 6th Generation Intel Processors

30x Better 3D graphics vs. a 5 year old PC

2.5x Better productivity vs a 5 year old PC

Get Creative, Play Harder,striking visuals in higher resolution, faster frame rates, Ultra HD 4K multimedia experiences.  With a 6th generation Intel® Core™ processor inside, you can watch, play, and game like never before.  Bring the action to life.

Windows 10 now running on over 270 million devices

Microsoft says Windows 10 is now running on 270 million devices.

The Windows 10 product launch has now surpassed 270 million devices and projects over 1 billion devices sometime in 2018.  This is based on data indicating that there are more than 600 million PC users who are operating on a machine that is over 5 years old.

I know many of you have been dealing with the annoying Windows 10 upgrade icon which doggedly prods you to upgrade from either Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 to Redmond's latest offering.  I have witnessed some instances where users got upgraded without their permission.

The truth of the matter is that it is an upgrade you should want.  There are new features in the OS that one does not have in Windows 7 or 8 and eventually support for Windows 7 will end and updates for that OS will cease.

The free upgrade offer ends on July 29, 2016.  Afterwards you will pay for Windows 10 Pro, currently $139.99 for the OEM version at Newegg, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832588491  ... and this is the OEM version which is only available on a new PC.

Caveat emptor, I have clients who have had issues with Windows 10 upgrade.  One company has multiple branches that use a VPN connector which the upgrade broke on every workstation that was upgraded.  It was a simple fix but required my assistance to remotely recreate the VPN connectors.  Another client had to reconfigure her Dragon voice to text device.  In my own case, my old reliable Canon MFC laser was not supported by Windows 10.  I connected the Canon to a Windows 7 machine and created a share thus circumventing that issue.

The facts are Windows 7 has been out since 2009, Windows XP which cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 was released in 2002.  I have clients now with new Tesla's and Lexus' who have to attend a class to learn how to operate.  Change is not without some challenges.

If you are using Windows 7, Windows 10 will be familiar.  If you are using Windows 8/8.1, I don't know what you are waiting for.

Windows lifecycle fact sheet

more Windows 10 news

Windows 10 will bring your Android phone notifications to you PC

Ubuntu (not Linux) on Windows

New 6th Generation Intel Processors

30x Better 3D graphics vs. a 5 year old PC

2.5x Better productivity vs a 5 year old PC

Get Creative, Play Harder,striking visuals in higher resolution, faster frame rates, Ultra HD 4K multimedia experiences.  With a 6th generation Intel® Core™ processor inside, you can watch, play, and game like never before.  Bring the action to life.