TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

September 11th is an appropriate date for discussing the threat posed by having our own technology turned against us. There's nothing at all amusing in this week's program, but we should start thinking about what the next attack will be like because there will be one. In Short Circuits: Bring your own device (BYOD) to the office and you'll expose your employer to new threats, but that's nothing compared to the dangers posed by computing devices that employees will wear. Some help is available if you want to determine whether a website is safe before you go there. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Healthcare, telecommunications, retail, and transportation industries continue to struggle with security; an Italian company says that the internet will be "safe" within 3 years -- I have my doubts; and government agencies increasingly are using hackathons to engage with developers.

Recently I rediscovered an anti-spam application that I had used until Windows 10 was installed and I forgot to reinstall Mailwasher Pro. It's back on my list of favorites. Maxthon's new MX5 browser has some winning features, particularly for website developers. But there are many features that any user will appreciate. In Short Circuits: Malwarebytes has a new feature in the premium version that will make your computer harder to infect. Someone in Russia seems to have hacked into state boards of election in Arizona and Illinois. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Password protection, secure file sharing, and backup are included in a new application from Keeper Security; some suggestions to keep your organization from becoming the next data breach statistic; free accounting software from Denmark (but you can pay for it if you want to); and increasing threats on the internet of things.

If you've upgraded to the Anniversary Edition of Windows 10, how's it working for you? Results have generally been good, but there are problems. We'll also consider what passes for public relations at Microsoft. In Short Circuits: Trusting Jellyhead Industries and a new plan to eliminate spam. Then in Spare Parts (only on the website): An appealing offer from Opera for Android users, the 2017 edition of Acronis True Image brings some welcome features, the PC was 35 years old this month, and IT professionals have some disturbing questions about the cloud.

If you use an Android tablet or smart phone to send and receive email, there's an app you should take a look at. Business email compromise attacks have become the in thing for scammers. In Short Circuits No operating system is perfectly safe, but a surprising find shows that even operating systems that are considered to be more secure sometimes aren't. USB-C is just around the corner and faster speed isn't the only advantage it will bring. Trying to extort half a billion dollars from the National Security Agency. The Social Security Administration has decided not to require two-factor authentication after all. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Crowd-based research is being used to fight diseases such as dengue fever, zika, and malaria and there's lots of competition for the operating systems that will run our future automobiles.

People who are looking for ways to learn but aren't concerned about earning a degree from learning have lots of free resources to choose from on the internet. Analysis of pay-per-install schemes reveals how these annoying ride-along bits of crapware can be added to your computer when you think you're installing just a single application and how the business monetizes itself. In Short Circuits: This week seemed to be a good time to mention some of the useful Mac-based utilities that I've been adding now that I once again own a Mac. Among them are some old friends from Windows -- the VLC video player and CrashPlan, for example. But there are also some new Mac-only programs such as Atext, NameChanger, and TextWrangler. In Spare Parts (only on the website): New techniques promise to make iris recognition a better way to validate users on all sorts of devices in many kinds of businesses, CliffsNotes is starting a process that will place much of the company's instructional materials on-line, and a company that promotes a way to manage your child's electronic allowance seems not to have noticed that the company that provides the service went out of business last month.

If you connect your mobile device to a public Wi-Fi network and you don't yet have a virtual private network application, you're asking for trouble. I've found what looks like the perfect solution. The good old scams were better. A fake Nigerian prince could be spotted at 50 paces, but now ransomware can take over your computer and the crooks don't always give it back when you pay the ransom. In Short Circuits: The latest version of Maxthon's browser has some clever features, but some people are complaining about privacy. The Windows 10 anniversary edition has been pushed out and most of my computers like it. I'll tell you about the one that doesn't. Kodak wants you to spy on your cat or dog and a Russian service has an app that lets you make 5-second videos. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Verizon continues to spend money on acquisitions and we'll take a look at the future of retail as on-line buying changes the landscape dramatically.

We've looked at various components in Xara's collection for photographers, website developers, publication managers, and graphic designers. This week it's Xara Designer Pro X365's turn. That's the program for all of those people. In Short Circuits Even a much-diminished Yahoo was worth nearly $5 billion to Verizon. Don't panic, but PornHub has been hacked. There's a good reason and I'll explain why. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Advanced persistent threats are the bane of IT managers and Pieter Arntz of Malwarebytes has an outstanding explanation of what these things are. A group called the Cyber Senate will gather in September in London to address major security issues that face the industry today. And we'll look at a report from security expert Brian Krebs, who says that the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, and the Trump for President organization all fail a key test for email security, but Hillary Clinton's site passed. (Yeah, you read that right.)

Apple makes hardware. Microsoft makes hardware. Each of them gets some things right and some things wrong. Let's take a look. The operating systems that run on the hardware also have pluses and minuses. We'll consider Windows, OSX, and Linux. In Short Circuits: Are you ready for the Windows 10 anniversary edition? Antivirus developers seems to be busy acquiring each other. In Spare Parts (only on the website): How about throwing several thousand bugs into your software? Voice modification software from Vietnam. Facebook messenger sees 1 billion users every month. And Intel's profits continue to fall, but they beat analysts' expectations.

With the help of a few useful plug-ins, Thunderbird is a highly capable email application that runs on Windows, OSX, and Linux. One of the most useful utilities in Windows, the Event Viewer, is used by fraudsters to frighten users. Here's what you need to know to avoid the con. In Short Circuits ... The Washington Post offers a year's worth of free on-line access to anyone who subscribes to almost any other newspaper. This is genius and I'll explain why. The Sun and Moon calculator is helpful if you need to predict where either will be and an update makes it even better. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Mac users have to watch out for two new malicious apps launched in the last week, let's consider the possibility of voting on-line (someday), the FDIC is in trouble for trying to hide numerous long-term break-ins that exposed a lot of personal information, and even though Apple doesn't include a security slot with its notebook computers, you can add one -- for a price.

How secure is your Wi-Fi router? [An editing error resulted in my swapping the correct term (gigahertz) with an incorrect term (gigabit) on the podcast.] You're probably not running a completely open router, but there may be ways to improve it. The podcast is now 10 years old -- 500 episodes -- and TechByter (formerly Technology Corner) has been around for 30 years, so I can't help but look back a bit. In Short Circuits ... Windows 10's anniversary edition will be available on August second and if you want to get it without charge, you need to upgrade to Windows 10 no later than July 29th, but one person who didn't want Windows 10 has won a suit against Microsoft. Now you can stuff 4 terabytes of data onto pocket-size hard drives. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Virtual reality comes to health care as a pain management tool and some tips on how to avoid being the next victim of a data breach.

It's going to be more than 20 minutes this week. Lots to talk about. TechSmith's SnagIt, already the best screen capture program available, becomes even better. Updates to Adobe's Creative Cloud, large and small, make the suite of applications for creatives even more essential. In Short Circuits ... If you're not familiar with the Maxthon browser, which is a product of China, you probably will be soon enough. Why would anyone want a wireless disk drive? Let's check it out. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Most programs today can create PDF documents, but going the other way can be a problem. An on-line service plans to change that. Verizon plans to improve its location-based technology. I'll explain that in English. The Weather Company and IBM will soon make highly-localized forecasts possible. And the Malwarebytes blog reveals a malicious app that can use your smart phone.

Text editors aren't just for programmers and website designers. Writers can benefit from the uncluttered interface. Live streaming feeds, the ones that provide unauthorized access to live events, may also provide a pathway to your computer for malware. In Short Circuits ... Net neutrality scores a win in federal appeals court, but the battle won't be over until it gets to the Supreme Court. Microsoft plans to acquire LinkedIn. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The biggest growth industry for crooks these days is ransomware and spam has progressed from being just annoying to being extremely dangerous.

Don't fall victim to a doxer. Besides explaining what doxers are, I'll have some suggestions for avoiding the creeps. There's a very good chance that just about any website you visit has some security vulnerabilities. In Short Circuits ... Adobe released new Lightroom and Camera Raw versions this week. An article in the New York Times outlines the distressing reality of governments planning for cyber-warfare. Some of Mark Zuckerberg's accounts were hacked this week. Are you smarter than he is? In Spare Parts (only on the website): A utility that claims to be able to fix broken Microsoft Office files comes with a hefty price tag. Verizon sounds like it wants to buy Yahoo's internet assets. And Fujitsu offers some scanners that can store your files in the cloud without involving a computer.

Xara's latest edition of Photo and Graphic Designer has enough new features and improved functions to earn a "WOW!" from me. It's time for a little show and tell. In Short Circuits ... The National Football League's Washington Redskins waited a month and a half to let players know that one of their trainers had fumbled a computer into the hands of a thief. Ohio State University makes it 3 in a row for victories in the EcoCAR competition. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Is "Facebook privacy" just an oxymoron or is there something you can do to improve your odds? The latest batch of CPUs from Intel bring astounding performance, but also astounding prices. And following the acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital, jobs start to disappear.

Flash is all but dead. Apple stopped supporting it six years ago and browser manufacturers, citing security concerns, are also dropping support. Fraudsters seem to be winning the technology battle according to accounting firm KPMG. In Short Circuits ... Microsoft turns a $7.2 billion investment in Nokia into a $7.6 billion loss. The internet loses its capital letter. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Kaspersky warns about a new variant of an ATM skimmer that leaves no physical evidence. Adding a battery to a wall-wart charger makes it a 3-in-one device. And Microsoft has a plan to make affordable internet access more common.