Tech News Weekly: Issue 38
Of Dishwashers, replaceable batteries and security issues, lots of security issues
News
Operating Systems
Microsoft’s Windows 10 version 21H2 operating system is no longer supported by the company. Microsoft is asking customers to upgrade to Windows 10 version 22H2, which is the last version of Windows 10 and will be supported until October 2025.
Future versions of Windows 11 will have fewer Folder Options than current versions. Microsoft removed 9 options from the Folder Options dialog of File Explorer. These are still available, but only as Registry tweaks.
Speaking of which, Microsoft has updated the list of supported processors for Windows 11. It added dozens of new processors, but removed at least one as well.
Windows has a, rather, secret Emergency Restart option that many Windows users are unaware of. Ashwin published a guide on using it, but here is a quick summary:
Use Cltr-Alt-Del to display a screen with options to lock the device, switch users, sign-out or shut down among other things.
Hold down the Ctrl-key on the keyboard and left-click on the power button that is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen.
Select OK when the Emergency restart screen appears.
It forces the restart, which means that it ignores safety features that display prompts to the user when files or programs are still open.
Mobile
The European Union has voted in favor of bringing back replaceable phone batteries. The vote has far-reaching consequences, including that mobile devices that use batteries need to have mechanisms that allow consumers to replace these batteries.
Modern devices have batteries that can’t be replaced, but this was not always the case. In the early days of mobile phones, replaceable batteries were the norm. Batteries deteriorate over time, which makes the devices less usable in the long run.
WhatsApp’s new Silence Unknown Callers feature allows users of the messaging app to mute calls from unknown callers automatically. The feature is being rolled out and users of the messaging app may configure it under Settings > Privacy > Silence Unknown Callers. The new Privacy Checkup feature is available as well now.
Browser
Google released a security update for its Chrome web browser that patched several issues, including one rated critical. Most Chromium-based browsers have also released updates to address these security issues.
Opera One Stable is now available. It is a redesigned web browser that will replace the current Opera browser in the coming months. Core features are an integrated AI, which Opera calls Aria, a tab islands feature that groups tabs together, and a modular design.
Privacy and Security
Bitwarden released a security update that fixes a vulnerability in the Windows version of the password manager. The developers implemented Windows Hello biometric authentication incorrectly, which allowed attackers to potentially gain access to a user’s vault without authentication.
Sweden-based Mullvad VPN has launched Leta, an alternative search engine that is only available to its customers. Leta uses Google’s API through a proxy and caches, so that users of the VPN remain untracked. Mullvad’s service is free of charge and it does not show ads or sells user data. Each account gets 100 direct searches per day and unlimited cached searches.
Leta is the second product that Mullvad launched recently. The company released Mullvad Browser earlier this year as well, which is based on Firefox ESR, but includes privacy improvements.
Asus router owners or administrators need to be aware of a security issue that Asus confirmed and patched recently. The released firmware updates address nine unique vulnerabilities, several of which are rated as critical. Techradar nots affected routers include these among others: GT6, GT-AXE16000, GT-AX11000 PRO, GT-AXE11000, GT-AX6000, GT-AX11000, GS-AX5400, GS-AX3000, XT9, XT8, XT8 V2, RT-AX86U PRO, RT-AX86U, RT-AX86S, RT-AX82U, RT-AX58U, RT-AX3000, TUF-AX6000, and TUF-AX5400.
Software Releases and Updates
The Mail and Calendar apps of Windows will be retired. The new Outlook app for Windows is going to take over. Microsoft’s initial plan was to retire the two apps in September 2024, but an updated message indicates that it is reevaluation the timeline.
New computers with Windows 11 will ship with the new Outlook app and not the Mail application anymore starting early 2024. The Mail app continues to be available in the Microsoft Store though for manual installation.
Windows Update Viewer is a free open source tool for Windows that displays information about update installations, including failed updates. It links to the support articles, has a search option and supports filtering.
Outlook users who noticed slow startups at times or even hangs may try a workaround that Microsoft posted this week to address the issue. The workaround requires editing the Windows Registry.
Microsoft explains that the issue is caused by Outlook “having trouble determining the ‘default’ sate of the cache”.
This setting, when set to 1, will force REST on and avoid the issue:
Location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar
DWORD: RestUpdatesForCalendar
Value: 1 if Enabled, 0 if Disabled
Intel released updated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers this week. The Wi-Fi driver update addresses connectivity issues, including issues connecting to certain access points or issues scanning for 5 Ghz access points.
Gaming and Entertainment
Photobucket has terminated all free accounts, but has not deleted the images of former free account users. These may regain access to their images and videos when they sign-up for a trial or paid plan.
Valve Software has released a Steam client update that is introducing several new features, including a new note taking option, a redesigned overlay and other features.
Other
Google started the rollout of its new AI-powered Help Me Write feature, which is designed to write emails or texts for the user. It works similarly to other AI interactions. The user describes a task and the AI produces the content.
This feature, and many others of its kind, shift the creative writing process to the process of wording instructions.
Google Bard’s rollout in the European Union continues to be delayed because of questions regarding the upholding of European data protection laws.
Article(s)
A story of a dishwasher, an app and consequences of putting the Internet into everything
When you purchase a dishwasher, you expect it to work immediately after it has been installed properly. It needs power and water connections, but that should be it.
Things may get complicated if the dishwasher has Internet connectivity and functionality, and an app. It gets even worse if the dishwasher does not work if the Internet server is not available or if it has not been paired with the app.
This happened to Troy Hunt, of Have I Been Pwned fame, who purchased a new dishwasher, only to find out that he could not use it right away. The dishwasher could not be paired with the application as the server was not available at the time.
The connectivity issue was caused by server maintenance, but it could very well also have been caused by technical issues or an attack.
Someone at Miele, the company that produced the dishwasher, must have thought that the workflow is ideal. Customers might beg to differ, expecting that a dishwasher should always work, regardless of whether non-essential features, such as an app integration, work or not.
In any event, it seems that the dishwasher can’t be used in places without Internet connectivity. While there may not be many left, someone at Miele might want to consider adding an override to the dishwasher to allow it to work without pairing it with an application first.
IoT, Internet of Things, has its uses. Using it to control heating or air conditioning in a home, or controlling window shades, but who needs IoT in toasters, dishwashers, or even in toilet paper dispensers or to inform you when you are running low on eggs in the fridge.
It gets worse when these devices can’t be used without establishing a connection to an app or an Internet server.
Using LocalSend to share files with nearby devices
Sending files between devices is not as straightforward as it could be. While there are some operating system specific features and even attempts to introduce cross-platform capabilities, such as Google’s Nearby Share technology, it is still largely cumbersome.
LocalSend is a free open source tool to share files between devices directly. What makes LocalSend interesting is that it supports all major operating systems. There are versions for the desktop operating systems Windows, Linux and macOS, and the mobile operating systems Android, iOS and Fire OS.
While it is still necessary to install the program or app on each device, its excellent cross-platform support makes LocalSend a great option for users who work on devices that use different operating systems.
The developers describe the technology that LocalSend uses in the following way:
LocalSend uses a secure communication protocol that allows devices to communicate with each other using a REST API. All data is sent securely over HTTPS, and the TLS/SSL certificate is generated on the fly on each device, ensuring maximum security.
The app does not require an Internet connection or the use of third-party servers. It establishes direct connections between devices, making it an excellent option in situations where file sharing may be limited or Internet connectivity is not available or wanted.
To use LocalSend, install the application on at least two devices. Once done, open the app or program on the device that you want to send files from and select the send option. Nearby devices should be picked up automatically, but there is also an option to enter an address manually or prepare files to be transferred to multiple recipients at once.
The settings list technical information about ports, which may be required depending on how firewalls and other security software is set up. For most users, things should work automatically.
All in all, there is much to like about LocalSend. It is open source and available for all major platforms, does not require Internet services or even Internet connectivity, and works out of the box in most environments.
Links
This 'thermal attack' can read your password from the heat your fingertips leave behind