TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

We'll take a look at the latest iteration of On1's set of tools for photographers and examine how they can improve photographs of people. Following up from last week's recommendations for secure browsing, I'll describe the process I use to stay safe on the Web. In Short Circuits: How to enable the built-in Administrator account in Windows and although Microsoft is reducing on-line storage for Office 365 users, it's still substantial. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new Microsoft data center will open soon for users in Europe and Fujitsu examines the future of computing over the next 5 to 10 years.

The Cyber Threat Alliance says that it has cracked the code on CryptoWall, malware that's associated with $325 million in payments to crooks, but there's bad news, too. A single image created by today's digital cameras, shooting in raw mode, wouldn't even fit on the original PC hard drives. And that's just one crazy thing about today's technology. In Short Circuits: The end is approaching for Windows 7, a first glance at On1's Photo 10, and Firefox seems to be fading away. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Traditional camera manufacturers are being overrun by electronics manufacturers, the launch of Halo 5 was the biggest ever for the franchise, and there's a utility that claims to eliminate dead links on websites and in documents.

One of the more helpful sites for Windows users is The Windows Club, but be careful with downloads from the site. We'll take a couple of looks at security: On-line reviews may not always be as trustworthy as they appear and watch out for "free" offers on Facebook and elsewhere. In Short Circuits, Western Digital plans to acquire SanDisk and a new approach to stifling on-line bullies. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Microsoft finally opens its flagship store in New York City and it's very close to Apple's flagship store and the rush to move software as a service applications to the cloud is accelerating.

If you're looking for an application that edits photographs, creates logos, designs websites, and publishes documents, you should take a look at Xara Designer Pro. Is TechByter Worldwide a safe website? SiteLock helps me to ensure that it is. In Short Circuits: How many federal agencies are keeping track of information about you? Comodo and Acronis have combined to offer some useful capabilities. And GoDaddy says that it wants to level the playing field for women. In Spare Parts (only on the website): If you're a fan of FileMaker Pro, you can buy the latest version and get an extra copy for free and we'll take a look a computer you can throw out the window (but I recommend that you don't.)

Password managers make it possible to maintain and use complex and secure passwords, and there are several to choose from. If you're someone who likes to write website code instead of using a WYSIWYG development tool, Brackets would be worth looking at. In Short Circuits: If you recently upgraded to Windows 10, you're probably eligible for a money saving deal on Office 365, but there might be a better option. The biggest tech deal in history has Dell Computers acquiring the much larger EMC Corportion. Several weeks ago, I described switching to Bitdefender. This week I'll tell you why I can no longer recommend the product. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The market for wearable electronics is large and growing larger every day and software as a service is seen as a new vector for malware.

Experian, the company that T-Mobile uses to confirm customers' credit-worthiness has been hacked, exposing data about 15 million customers who signed up between September 2013 and last month. Adobe's updated Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bring welcome features to the consumer-level applications. In Short Circuits: Skype offers a gift that most people won't be able to use; In Los Angeles, Adobe Max wowed the 7000 who attended; and Microsoft announced the new Surface Pro 4. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A small party that's participating in Swiss elections calls itself the Anti-PowerPoint Party, It's October, so stores want you to start thinking about spending money for Christmas presents, and a beer fridge (available only in California now) connects to your Wi-Fi system so you'll know when you're running low.

The files on your computer are worth more than the computer and having a reliable backup is the only way to ensure their safety. Acronis True Image is a good insurance policy. LG enters the tablet market in the United States with its Gram series of lightweight computers that look a lot like Microsoft's Surface computers. In Short Circuits: Acronis teams up with Quantum-Safe Encryption to make cloud storage safer and in an Odds and Ends article, we consider this week's Adobe MAX and why companies choose goofy spellings for their corporate names. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Russia's prime minister touts the country as a good location for innovators, protective software publisher ESET acquires DESlock, and the Department of Homeland Security points out some security failings.

Photographers sometimes need to know where the sun and the moon will be so that they can plan a photo. If that describes you, take a look at Sun and Moon Calculator. The latest Windows 10 release in the Fast Ring gives a hint about improvements that will be coming soon. In Short Circuits: Microsoft has released Office 2016, Skype suffers a major malfunction, and WizMouse brings one of the Windows 10 features I adore to earlier versions. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A survey suggests that far too many people send their children off to college with unprotected computers and Concept Blossom says that it should be OK to re-use passwords on multiple sites. Is this dangerous?

Microsoft Security Essentials catches most malware that's in the wild, but is relatively weak when it comes to identifying new types of threats. Some antivirus programs use too many system resources and others display bothersome messages and try to sell you new services. We need something, but what? Windows 10 has generally been a solid performer for most people. That doesn't mean I haven't encountered annoyances and some people have found serious problems. We'll take a look at some of the annoyances I've found. In Short Circuits, most Americans think the presidential campaign will be hacked, DefCon Cyber scores your security risks, and Intel wants to be inside your mirror, dress, and bra. In Spare Parts (only on the website): OpenText delivers analytics in the cloud; Localeur Expands, but still hasn't come to central Ohio; and Shakespeare comes to your smart phone.

On-line instruction is a growing business and TrainSimple is in the process of expanding from being an Adobe-only shop to one that provides numerous classes for creative folks; if you're looking for an application that removes programs you no longer want, maybe the IOBit Installer is what you need. In Short Circuits: A government agency close to home (Miami County) had to pay cyber-crooks to recover data, the 64-bit version of The Bat passes inspection, and the Secret Service says mobile payment fraud is on the rise. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Things are changing so fast that it's becoming a problem and cloud-based storage is a business that's growing fast.