TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

As our computers become repositories for ever increasing numbers of files, sometimes it’s hard to find the one you’re looking for even if you try to keep them organized. The free version of Agent Ransack can save the day. In Short Circuits: Although the risk of being victimized by a SIM-swap scam is small, the damage done by such an attack could be enormous. There’s a quick, easy way to eliminate the danger. • Have you tried using side tabs in the web browser on your computer? Some browsers have that functionality built in, and there are extensions for those that don’t.

Microsoft and Adobe are gigantic, but are they as evil as some would have us believe? Big doesn’t always mean bad, so let’s take a look. In Short Circuits: What might the prosecution say in making the case that Adobe, Microsoft, or both are evil. I tried to work out what cases might be made.

Doctored images, deep-fake videos, and disinformation have us surrounded, so now it’s time to identify the ways we can protect ourselves from the lies. In Short Circuits: It’s still easy to spot some manipulated photos or videos, but increasingly we’re going to need artificial intelligence to help us identify the dreck that has been created by artificial intelligence. • And even AI analysis won’t protect us for very long. Just as we must be the final line of defense against malware, spyware, phishing, and social engineering, we need to learn how to deflect the lies being thrown at us.

Even if you use an online backup service, it probably doesn’t capture the operating system and the Registry. An image backup application is needed if you want to avoid having to reinstall Windows and all applications if the disk drive fails. The free Aomei Backupper application may be sufficient. In Short Circuits: You can have absolute madness on your computer if you’re able to locate an old copy of Totally Mad from Broderbund Software, but there are tricks to getting it installed. • Everybody knows how to cut, copy, and paste text and images, but there’s a better option than Ctrl-V for pasting.

No matter how long or complex a password is, it’s useless if a scammer gains access to it. One of the most beneficial aspects of passkeys is that they can be compromised only if the crook gains access to the computer or smart phone where they are stored. In Short Circuits: Microsoft Outlook is facing more competition than it has seen in quite some time, and some of the strongest competition comes from the newly renovated Thunderbird and its stable of more than two thousand add-ons. • Anyone who is displeased by Microsoft’s decision to add advertisements, which they call “recommendations”, to the Start Menu and elsewhere will welcome relief from two open-source apps that stifle them.

The domain name service you use may have an effect on the speed with which web pages load, but there are other reasons to examine the DNS you use now and possibly change it. In Short Circuits: When you’re giving away or selling a computer or disk drive, think about the files that were on the computer. Just deleting them doesn’t really remove the data. How much more you need to do depends on how much you value privacy and security. • Excire, the company that makes the standalone Excire Foto and the Lightroom Classic plug-in Excire Search, is also helping law enforcement agencies evaluate photographic evidence.

Panicking pundits pummel Photoshop prematurely. If you listen to or read some of what passes for thoughtful reporting, you might be convinced that Adobe is a demon that must be eliminated. I disagree. In Short Circuits: Windows 7 introduced a handy new way to share files with other local users, but HomeGroup wasn’t widely used and it was discontinued with Windows 10. A follow-up function is limited by working only with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, not Ethernet. Something better is needed. • Mozilla’s Pocket is a handy way to make references for articles you want to read available on any mobile device or computer that has a browser.

When I noticed a disk drive problem early one Saturday, I decided it was time to replace an aging cabinet filled with aging disk drives. A significant performance boost was a welcome extra. In Short Circuits: Microsoft would like you not to use cleanup applications such as CCleaner because they might damage the Registry, but now they’re offering a CCleaner-like app called PC Manager. • Editing Environment variables is much easier today than it was 40 years ago with EDLIN on an early DOS computer, and an addition to Microsoft’s PowerToys makes it even better.

Despite having used CrashPlan for the past eight years and still feeling that it is a viable online backup service, I have switched to Backblaze. In Short Circuits: Starting in less that two weeks, Facebook will begin using your public posts, photos, and chatbot iterations to train its AI. • Libraries are among my favorite institutions because of their high-tech and low-tech solutions to today’s problems.

This week is all about artificial intelligence, starting with the many ways AI can be used to improve images and sometimes create scenes that do not exist in real life. There are also applications for old and new motion pictures. In Short Circuits: We’ll move on to how AI might soon be used to help applications like Waze and Google Maps evaluate more conditions that affect your route. • Is the last place we should ever expect to find AI on the Desktop? Probably not. But is Stardock the last firm we’d ever expect to put it there? Let’s ponder that.