TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

TechByter Worldwide will return next week. This link will take you to last week's program.

The number of security threats and the methods that crooks use have both increased in the past year and show no sign of slowing. In Short Circuits: Google has released a new app that's designed to control which applications have access to an Android phone's data plan. While not a new concept, the app has some promising features. If you miss the old-style Control Panel in the latest Windows update, there's an easy way to create single-click access. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Lots of companies sell your information. Nothing new there, but what about companies that don't question requests from government agencies? The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a list. • Password Manager Dashlane has a list of the 10 worst password offenders for the year and Donald Trump is at the top of the list. Dashlane will explain why. • Is hibernation enabled on your computer? Should it be? Let's see how to turn it on if you want it or turn it off if you don't.

Rental software -- whether delivered as "software as a service" or on a subscription basis -- offers advantages for those who want their applications to be updated continuously, but not everyone likes the idea. There are alternatives. In Short Circuits: The Federal Communications Commission has voted to end Net Neutrality even though more than 75% of voters oppose the move. One final possibility exists to keep the policies in place. NATO is discussing the threat of cyber attacks and is planning its own cyber-warfare strategy. Adobe released numerous updates this week, including some powerful new or improved features for Lightroom and Camera Raw. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A Bluetooth device claims to work with all digital assistants except Cortana. • Central New Mexico Community College has started issuing digital diplomas. • A company that provides services to jails and prisons says that music and other streaming media might reduce violence among prisoners.

Photo Raw 2018 from OnOne brings several powerful new features to an application that can work with Photoshop or Lightroom as a filter or work independently of them as a file organizer and raw image converter. In Short Circuits: How to avoid nasty surprises from a disk drive by using Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology that's included on most modern disk drives. Improvements in an older battery technology might lead to safer, less expensive, and environmentally better batteries for portable devices. Android is the least secure computing platform, but Google is trying to fix that. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Money can't buy happiness, but the maker of an IOS app says it can bring Joy. • A Bluetooth gadget claims to make Alexa available in your car and to do so without being a distraction for the driver. • An "initial song offering" might mean that music fans can own a small percentage of certain songs, but only if they live outside the United States.

Whether it's Windows, MacOS, or Linux, your operating system probably bugs you about updates more than you'd like -- but ignoring update requests is a bad idea. After getting off to a strong start, Firefox faltered when Google introduced Chrome. The latest version of Firefox is out and it's worth looking at no matter which browser you use now. In Short Circuits: Uber tried to cover up a data breach that affected 57 million users and drivers. Having been caught, they say they're sorry. A request that appears to be from your email administrator isn't. It's just another fraud, but the creeps who create the frauds are getting better. In Spare Parts (only on the website): How about a Wi-Fi hotspot that looks like an umbrella? • Or maybe a device that looks like brass knuckles but lets you type on your tummy? • Waze teams up with Allstate Roadside Services. • A new app allows ophthalmologists to monitor patients at home.

TechByter Worldwide will return next week. This link will take you to last week's program.

Alien Skin has released a major update for its Exposure application, expanding its stand-alone capabilities by providing better photo management tools. We'll take a long look at what's new and why it's important. In Short Circuits: Do you have some old digital photos from the early days -- pictures you can't use because the quality is so low? Well, maybe an on-line service will be able to improve them. If you think that CompuServe forums no longer exist, you're wrong, but a month from now you'll be right. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Another iteration of Locky, the malware that encrypts files and holds them hostage, wants to come aboard your computer. • GoDaddy introduces a new feature for businesses that need to establish appointments with customers. • A survey says that artificial intelligence is the future. • Battling identity theft and wire fraud in the real estate industry.

When it's time to move your applications, settings, and files from an old computer to a new one, you can do it the hard way or spend a few tens of dollars and automate the process. Maybe you seen websites that offer to multiply your Bitcoins by 13 times in less than an hour. If you believe that, please contact me because I have some desert property beneath the Brooklyn Bridge that may also appeal to you. In Short Circuits: Every operating system has quirks and does things in ways that annoy users. Instead of putting up with the annoyances, maybe you'd be happier if you eliminated them. We veer slightly off the technology path with a look at the dangers of a detached retina, why it needs immediate attention, and how it can be fixed. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A hospital in California is using virtual reality as a distraction during medical procedures so that children don't need to be anesthetized. • On-line payments need to be made easier and more secure. Some companies are working on it. • Maybe you'd like a computer that will survive if you literally throw it out a window.

Users of Snagit should be sure to check out the latest version and anyone who needs to capture screen shots for documentation, illustration, or education but isn't using Snagit, should take a look. All the experts say passwords are dead, but it seems that whatever will replace them hasn't been invented yet. In Short Circuits: Google has updated Chrome to fix a security problem. If you use Chrome, it has probably already been updated, but verification is easy. The US Department of Justice has indicted 6 members of an identity theft ring. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Honors for the "fathers of the spreadsheet" notes the 1979 development of Visicalc. • According to recent research, a surprising number of people ignore recall notices.

Version 1709 of Windows may already be on your computer, so let's consider how to find out and look at what's new. I'll also have tips on how to get it if you don't have it and (for some users) how to avoid it for a while if you want to wait. A flurry of phony messages from Burger King, Donald Trump, Sam's Club, Walgreens, Amazon, and more all say they have gift certificates for me. In Short Circuits: A two-fer from Consumers Union this week. First, the organization is asking for information from people who have suffered identity theft. And second, a series of 6 steps you can take to keep your private information private. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new version of Snagit adds several useful features. • A middle school student in New York City won a 3D printer and 30 Raspberry Pi computers from Micro Center for his school.