Thursday, December 17, 2015
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Beware, Microsoft plans to push Windows 10 on even more Windows 7 and 8 systems [feedly]
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Beware, Microsoft plans to push Windows 10 on even more Windows 7 and 8 systems
// gHacks Technology News
Microsoft wants computer systems that run Windows 7 or 8 to be upgraded to Windows 10, there is no doubt about that.
The company projected that more than one billion Windows 10 devices will be running the new operating system in the next couple of years which is an ambitious goal even if you consider that this includes mobile devices and the Xbox.
Windows 7 and 8 users who want to upgrade can do so easily, but those who don't, fight an seemingly endless battle against Windows 10 upgrade patches that prepares their systems for the upgrade.
This led to situations where Windows 10 was already downloaded to a PC despite the user being unaware of it.
Two weeks ago, Microsoft pushed the Windows 10 upgrade forcefully to some systems and stated later that this happened by accident.
A recent post on the official Windows Experience Blog indicates that the accident may soon become reality for millions of Windows 7 and 8 systems.
Microsoft plans to deliver Windows 10 as an optional update "soon in order to make it easier for users to find it.
Optional updates are not installed by default but listed in Windows Update alongside recommended and important updates.
Then early next year, it plans to re-categorize Windows 10 as a recommended update which is a significant change as it will initiate the upgrade process automatically on systems configured to install recommended updates automatically just like important updates.
While users will receive a prompt when that happens, so that they are not surprised that a new operating system has been installed on their device, it may be the safest to disable the automatic installation of recommended updates if you don't want to upgrade to Windows 10 on a computer running an older version of Windows. Microsoft notes that the upgrade can be rolled back in the first 31 days.
It is likely that users will be caught in the cross-fire when the change goes life. For some, it will make it easier to upgrade to Windows 10 there is no doubt about that. But for those users who don't want Windows 10, it may mean that Windows 10 will be downloaded to their system depending on the configured update settings of it.
Considering that the response to Microsoft's Windows 10 upgrade accident was everything but positive, it is likely that the reactions this time will be even less so.
Control Windows Update
To verify the current update preferences on Windows 7, do the following:
Tap on the Windows-key.Type Windows Update and hit enter. This should open the Windows Update interface.Select "change settings" on the left side.Uncheck "give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates" under "recommended options".If you want, you may also switch from "install updates automatically (recommended)" to "check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" to be on the safe side.
On Windows 8, you need to do the following instead:
Swipe from the right edge of the screen, click on Settings, then Change PC Settings and finally on Update and recovery.Select "choose how updates get installed".Uncheck "give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates".Optional: Change how updates are delivered under "important updates".
Other Windows 10 upgrade changes
Microsoft announced other changes coming to Windows 10 upgrades. The company's own Media Creation Tool will be upgraded soon to allow the creation of combined 32-bit and 64-bit installation images which administrators can install on any number of "genuine PCs" regardless of whether a previous version of Windows is installed on these devices as a valid Windows license will be accepted during installation.
For non-genuine versions of Windows, Microsoft plans to launch an experiment in the United States first which provides users of these systems with an opportunity to purchase a genuine copy of the operating system directly via Windows Store or by entering an activation code.
Now You: How is Windows Update configured on your system?
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The post Beware, Microsoft plans to push Windows 10 on even more Windows 7 and 8 systems appeared first on gHacks Technology News.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Firefox 41: Find out what is new [feedly]
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Firefox 41: Find out what is new
// gHacks Technology News
Mozilla plans to release Firefox 41 Stable to the public on September 22, 2015. This article walks you through all important changes, features and everything else that is new.
Since the release process is streamlined, all other editions of Firefox will be updated as well on that day.
This means that the following versions will be released tomorrow: Firefox 41 Stable, Firefox 42 Beta, Firefox 43 Developer Edition, Firefox 44 Nightly and Firefox ESR 38.3.
The information below covers only Firefox Stable and no other edition of the web browser.
Firefox 41 download and update
All versions of Firefox are configured by default to check for updates regularly. If you have not modified that setting you should be notified about that new version soon.
If you don't want to wait, these checks don't happen in real-time, then you can run a manual check for updates as well.
The easiest way to do so is to tap on the Alt-key on the keyboard, and select Help > About Firefox from the menu that opens when you do.
If you prefer, you can download the newest versions of Firefox from their official download locations as well. Note that some may not have been updated yet at the time of writing. Mozilla usually does that around the time the official announcement of the release goes live.
Firefox Stable downloadFirefox Beta downloadFirefox Developer downloadNightly downloadFirefox ESR download
Firefox 41 Changes
Mozilla wanted to introduce add-on signing enforcement in Firefox 41 initially but pushed this back so that it is now scheduled to arrive in Firefox 43 instead.
The browser.newtab.url preference has been removed
New Tab Override add-on
Mozilla removed the browser.newtab.url preference in Firefox 41 which allowed Firefox users to set a custom new tab page using it.
Firefox users who still want to modify the New Tab page url can do so by installing the New Tab Override for the browser which enables them to do that.
Instant Messaging support added to Firefox Hello
Firefox Hello, a built-in communications module that allows you to make free video and voice calls to others, supports direct messaging in an instant messenger like environment in Firefox 41.
Simply start or join a conversation as usual. You can then start typing messages and hit enter to send them to everyone else participating in the conversation.
Binary XPCOM components are not supported anymore except as part of the application
If you are using a Firefox add-on that relies on binary XPCOPM components, you will notice that it won't work anymore once you update the web browser to version 41.
According to Mozilla's Benjamin Smedberg, the move was necessary as these represented "signigicant compatibility and stability risks to Firefox users".
Memory overhead of AdBlock Plus has been greatly reduced
If you have AdBlock Plus installed in Firefox you may have noticed that it may cause spikes in memory usage under certain conditions.
The main issue was that AdBlock Plus injected its stylesheet (of blocked resources) into every iFrame loaded on a page. While that did not matter on sites that used none or only a few, it resulted in huge memory spikes on sites that used many.
Firefox memory usage jumped more than a Gigabyte in extreme cases on sites that make excessive use of iFrames.
We have talked about this before and suggest you check out the initial post on the matter for details.
The fix, which we have reviewed here, improves memory usage by enabling the sharing of CSS data. AdBlock Plus users should notice memory improvements across the board thanks to the changes that Mozilla made.
WebRTC now requires perfect forward secrecy
Perfect Forward Secrecy limits the damage that can be done with compromised keys.
This means that the compromise of one [session] cannot lead to the compromise of others, and also that there is not a single secret value which can lead to the compromise of multiple [sessions]
Head over to Mozilla Hacks for additional information on the implementation.
Improved image decoding with performance up to twice as fast on some devices especially while scrolling
The release notes don't link to a bug listing on Bugzilla or mention details. It is unclear if this is related to support for Async Pan Zoom in Firefox or something else.
We have reviewed the APZ integration previously and found it to improve scrolling and zooming in Firefox significantly.
Other changes
Ability to set a profile picture for your Firefox AccountSVG images can be used as favicons. [Bug 366324]WARP was disabled on Windows 7 after memory bug on YouTube, Deezer and probably other sites was reported on Bugzilla. [Bug 1188831]Smoother and more reliable CSS animations via asynchronous animations [Bug 706179]The media.autoplay.enabled preference now also apply to untrusted HTMLMediaElement.play() invocations too, that is calls from non-users activated scripts. [Bug 659285]
Developer Changes
You can now take screenshots of selected nodes using Firefox's built-in Web Developer Tools. This is done by right-clicking on the node in the developer area (which you open with F12).The Web Developer Tools rules view has additional copy operations added to it.A right-click on image declarations in the developer tools allows you to copy the image as a data url.Implemented Cache API for querying named caches that are accessible Window, Worker, and ServiceWorkerThe command "security csp" has been added to the Developer Toolbar. It displays information related to Content Security Policy of the current domain (Open with Shift-F2). The Firefox Developer Toolbar is might useful for non-Developer related actions as well.CSS Font Loading API enabled by default, see W3.org for additional details.MessageChannel and MessagePort API enabled by default
Firefox for Android
Android changes
Swipe-to-close tabs on tabletsQuickly search with different search providers from the search panelOverlay to manually search and copy/paste login credentials from login manager when they're not auto-filledImproved bookmark management with duplicate bookmark detectionOpen Android applications from a web page via Intent URIsUser Agent now includes Android versionExperimental new "speed dial" home panel add-on API
Security updates / fixes
Mozilla reveals security patches after the official release. We will update the review as soon as they become available.
Additional information / sources
Firefox 41 release notesFirefox 41 Android release notesAdd-on compatibility for Firefox 41Firefox 41 for developersSite compatibility for Firefox 41Firefox Security Advisories
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The post Firefox 41: Find out what is new appeared first on gHacks Technology News.
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Friday, June 26, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Sunday, June 7, 2015
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Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Monday, June 1, 2015
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Thursday, May 28, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
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Thursday, February 26, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Lenovo stops Superfish preloads and issues advisory---Caught, now they respond- I call bull on this one.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Fwd: Guess how many add-ons you’ve downloaded
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Firefox For Desktop 
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