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TekBits Technology News

Microsoft publishes December 2016 Patch Previews

Microsoft has just released preview patches for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 which interested users and administrators can download for preview testing before they are pushed out via Windows Update on the second Tuesday of December.

The company changed how updates are made available for Windows 7 and 8.1 systems recently; it switched from releasing individual updates for issues to so-called rollups which include all patches released for a given month.

Cut videos with Lossless Cut

Lossless Cut is a free portable cross-platform program that enables you to cut videos in an easy to use interface without quality reductions.

The program is quite the heavyweight when you consider its archive size of 80 Megabytes, but it ships with all components included that you may need to cut a video file.

The interface has been streamlined which means that it is dead easy to use. Drop a video file on the interface, select start and end positions for the cut, and click on the cut button afterwards to cut it.

FileZilla Secure encrypt FTP login details

FileZilla Secure FTP Client is a fork of the popular ftp program for Windows and other devices that improves security by adding master password support.

FileZilla is a great cross-platform FTP client that is offered as a client and server version. The software is open source, and provides you with an impressive set of features.

The program supports more than just FTP though, as you can use it for FTPS and SFTP on top of that as well.

Firefox 50 Released: Find out what is new

Mozilla Firefox 50.0 was released on November 15, 2016. Mozilla postponed the release of the new stable version of the Firefox web browser to ship it with noticeable startup improvements.

Note: if you are reading this article on November 15, 2016: Mozilla will release Firefox 50.0 today. It is already available on the FTP, but the roll out of the update may not have happened yet.

Firefox 51: blocks automatic audio playback in non-active tabs

Firefox will block the automatic audio playback of content in non-active tabs starting with version 51 of the web browser.

There are two types of background audio in browsers: first audio playback initiated by the user, for instance by starting playback on a site and then switching to another tab. Second, audio playback that starts to play in the background without user interaction.

Dot11expert WLAN troubleshooting tool

Dot11expert is a WLAN troubleshooting tool for Windows devices that displays detailed information about adapters, networks, access points and other wireless networking related information.

Information that the program displays is useful for troubleshooting, but also for getting an overview of available access points and connections.

You can start the program right after you have downloaded its package and extracted it to a location on your device.

Wireless information is sorted into adapter, network and access point groups in the interface.

Double File Scanner: find duplicate files

Double File Scanner is a free portable program for Microsoft Windows operating systems that scans selected directories for duplicate files.

While there are plenty of programs out there for Windows that find file dupes, Double File Scanner is without the shadow of a doubt a convenient one to use.

To name a few alternatives that we have reviewed in the past: Duplicate Commander, Noclone, Doublekiller and CloneSpy.

Programs may use various methods to find duplicate files: from simple file name comparisons to comparing hash values, file sizes and a mix of options.

Microsoft: use Edge or Ads

Windows 10 felt in many regards like an operating system that was not ready for release back when Microsoft released it. This was the case for the new system browser Microsoft Edge as well, as it lacked a lot of features.

While it was highly optimized, it felt like a browsing shell more than a full browser in many regards. Microsoft worked on improving Edge, and it did so over time by introducing new functionality such as browser extensions.

Application Update Service Helper new Firefox system add-on

Application Update Service Helper is a new system add-on for the Firefox web browser that is pushed to all Firefox 50 or newer versions of the browser.

System add-ons work in many regards like regular add-ons that users install manually. They are installed and maintained independently from the browser core which is the greatest advantage.

This enables Mozilla to push updates to the browser without having to ship a new version of Firefox. The effect is that updates reach user systems faster and without service interruption.