December 2016

Netgear has released the first batch of production firmware fixes for company routers affected by a serious security vulnerability.

Cert issued a warning on December 9, 2016 that several Netgear routers are vulnerable to arbitrary command injection. Cert listed only two router models but has since then added other models to the list.

Google launched the updated version of Google Keyboard for Android, now called Gboard, recently introducing new features such as search directly from within the keyboard interface.

I'm not a huge fan of the new functionality as I don't require it at all. Unfortunately, there is no option to disable it completely in the application's settings. While browsing through the preferences the app makes available, I noticed quite a few that are privacy related.

Snap Link Plus is a long standing Firefox add-on that enables you to draw rectangles around links and other content to activate actions.

You can draw a rectangle --using the mouse-- around links for instance to open them all at once in the browser. Very handy as you don't have to click on each link separately to do so.

The process works well on any site: on Google search result pages, on forums, image board, blogs, file hosting sites, torrent sites and any other site where multiple links are provided that you may want to open some or all of.

RansomFree is a new free program for the Microsoft Windows operating system to protect your PC against ransomware attacks.

The program is fully compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and newer, as well as  Windows server operating systems.

RansomFree needs to be installed on the target machine. The protection that it adds to the system is interesting, as it creates a number of files on the system that it monitors for changes.

Microsoft has begun to move desktop themes for Windows 10 to the Windows Store. The company announced some time ago that it would make available themes in the Store, and the move marks the first step in that direction.

Windows Store features apps and game downloads, Edge extensions, and also music, movies & TV content right now. Microsoft wants this to be the one-stop shop for all things Windows. One thing that you may never see in the Store however are legacy Windows programs.

If you are using the official Google Keyboard application on Android, now called Gboard, then you may have noticed that it features a new G-button at the top of the keyboard.

Mysplash-photography&wallpaper, what a mouthful, is a well designed and lightweight Android client for Unsplash.com, a "do whatever you want" photography site.

Fix Windows Update errors is a troubleshooting page on Microsoft's Support website that aims to help Windows users resolve update related errors.

Windows 10 Update Switch is a free portable program for Windows 10 devices designed to set any network connection to metered to block the automatic download of Windows updates on the machine.

Microsoft is determined to push Windows updates to all Windows 10 machines. While there are some options that you have to block updates or delay them, those require usually some Registry hacking or Group Policy access.

Adobe has just released the first final Adobe Flash Player stable release, Flash Player 24, for GNU/Linux in years.

The company announced back in September 2016 that it would bring back Flash for Linux from the dead. This came as a surprise as it had ignored Linux for the most part when it comes to Flash.

Adobe promised back then that it would provide a Linux version of Adobe Flash Player that would be in sync with the company's regular Windows and Mac releases of Flash Player.