Tag: Apple

DoctorLaptop’s Tips #60 18APR17

Posted on by doctorlaptopstips
DoctorLaptop’s Tips #60 18APR17
-Unless you are still running Windows XP or Vista (shame on you, both are obsolete) don’t worry about the recent news headlines regarding Windows hacks being released. Windows7/8/10 users who keep their Windows Updates current are not at risk.
-Windows 7 users are no longer in danger of receiving an unwanted upgrade to Windows 10. Turn auto-updates back on if you have not already done so, as announced in an earlier edition of my “Tips”. If auto-updates has been off for a while expect a large number of new updates, so be patient. After setting Windows Updates to “automatically check for and install updates”, click on Check Now For Updates and leave it running all night. Connect power cable before starting this, never update on battery power. You can now also remove the GWX Control Panel program for blocking Windows 10 updates if you installed it. GWX does not need to be “uninstalled” like other programs, simply delete the .exe program file and restart your computer.
-MacBook 2016 owners, your Apple warranty says that it will not cover any “damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions!) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.” Apple can use this to deny you warranty repair coverage after 3rd party repairs, resulting in Genius Bar repair charges of hundreds of euros. It’s a shame to find it on the new Macbooks, as previous Apple laptops allowed users to do some light modifications without completely
voiding your warranty. Details at:
-My 5th Anniversary Clean&TuneUp Special expires on May 1st. Do it now to avoid problems the coming summer heat can cause.
Happy Computing, Naythan
Contact: mobile 675 993 069 or doctorlaptop@protonmail.com.
Links to my blog, FB, and Twitter:
0

DoctorLaptop’s Tips and News – 25July15

Posted on by doctorlaptopstips

Note: I now have wifi again and can check my email in a timely manner.

Windows-vulnerability-patch-update
In the wake of a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability in all versions of Windows, Microsoft has just issued an emergency fix.

Yes, it’s time to patch your Windows operating system against an alarming security hole that could allow remote attackers to run malicious code on your computer, thereby taking “complete control of the affected system.” Since Microsoft has conveniently failed to name the specific update needed, you are expected to “fully update” your Windows to get the patch.
*********************************************************************************************
 
Apple Mac OS X Vulnerability Allow Attacker to Hack your Computer
A security researcher has discovered a critical vulnerability in the latest version of Apple’s OS X Yosemite that could allow anyone to obtain unrestricted root user privileges with the help of code that fits in a tweet.
The privilege-escalation vulnerability initially reported on Tuesday by German researcher Stefan Esser, could be exploited to circumvent security protections and gain full control of Mac computers.
The most worrying part is that this critical vulnerability is yet to be fixed by Apple in the latest release of its operating system.
BEWARE: this next quote is in Geek-speak

“This is dangerous,” Esser explained in a blog post, “because it allows hackers to open or create arbitrary files owned by the root user anywhere in the file system. Furthermore, the opened log file is never closed and, therefore, its file descriptor is leaked into processes spawned by SUID binaries. This means child processes of SUID root processes can write to arbitrary files owned by the root user anywhere in the filesystem.”

Basic translation: If exploited, this allows an attacker to easily gain privilege escalation in Yosemite to hijack your Mac computer and take control of your system.

************************************************************************************************
How to Delete an Un-deletable File or Folder
In the case of a folder you may need to open the folder and manually delete all the contained files one at a time. If that goes ok then go back to the now empty folder and delete should work. If this fails, or you can not delete the files in the folder there are several geeky ways to remove the folder/files. I will spare you the details because there are tools to do this for you.
With IObitUnlocker, a free program, you wouldn’t be annoyed any more by messages like “Cannot delete file”, “Access is denied”, “undeleted files”, “The file is in use by another program or user”, or “There has been a sharing violation!” This is a powerful tool designed to fix such kind of problems, by terminating all related processes that prevent you from deleting or accessing files / folders that you need to remove.  It is an easy-to-use tool, which helps you delete the files or folders by dragging and dropping or just clicking the add button to select your objective files / folders. Get it from the official IOBIT site here:

 

 

1