Automatic Android App Updates

How to Disable Automatic Updates of Android Apps

By default, most apps you install on your Android device are set to update automatically. There are a whole slew of Google apps that you may not even use, but they were default apps that cam installed on your phone. If you are set to update apps automatically (again, the default), periodically these things start to download and install. If this is going on when I try to do something on my phone, the operation slows to a crawl or even becomes completely unresponsive.

After some poking around, I found how to change the settings so automatic updates don’t happen. I can now choose the updates I want and when I want them to occur. Continue reading →

OneDrive – More Than Just a Name Change

Recently, Microsoft changed the name of their Skydrive cloud storage to OneDrive. That change was prompted by a copyright lawsuit that they lost.

But today, Microsoft changed more than just the name. And that’s good for consumers.

Previously, you got 7 GB of cloud storage for free or 20 GB if you are an Office 365 subscriber.

Today’s announcement ups that to 15 GB for free and a whopping 1 TB if you are an Office 365 subscriber. The incentive to get your Office software by subscription just got a lot bigger. With 1 TB for documents, photos, whatever, you’re not likely to run of of cloud storage space soon. You can now save your stuff to OneDrive without worrying much about the quota.

“Malvertising” – Be Careful What You Click On Even on Reputable Sites

Malicious advertisements on reputable and popular Websites like Facebook, Disney, and even The Guardian newspaper have been detected to redirect clicks to sites that will infect your computer with Ransomware. Many other reputable Websites are undoubtedly also involved. This is what makes this kind of malware so sacary, since you expect Websites like those mentioned above to be trustworthy. The Website owners may not even know their site is making their users vulnerable, but you are vulnerable none-the-less.

If you click on one of the malicious advertisements, you may be led to malware that encrypts a computer’s files and demands a ransom before you can recover your files.

There’s no sure fire way to detect such advertisements on a Website. Just don’t click ANYTHING out of curiosity alone. Be darn sure your interested in what you’re clicking on. And backup – backup – backup just in case you become a victim.

Popular Encryption Software TrueCrypt Unexpectedly Shuts Down

TrueCrypt Is No More??? A shocker!

I have relied on TrueCrypt for at least a couple of years now, as have so many others, to encrypt sensitive files on my computer. It’s been a highly regarded standard for keeping private and sensitive information away from potential prying eyes.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, those behind the TrueCrypt software have shut down their download page, truecrypt.org, and redirected it to truecrypt.sourceforge.net with this message…

WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues

This page exists only to help migrate existing data encrypted by TrueCrypt.

The development of TrueCrypt was ended in 5/2014 after Microsoft terminated support of Windows XP. Windows 8/7/Vista and later offer integrated support for encrypted disks and virtual disk images. … You should migrate any data encrypted by TrueCrypt to encrypted disks or virtual disk images supported on your platform.

The page goes on to give step-by-step instructions on how to migrate from TrueCrypt to Microsoft’s BitLocker.

This mysterious action caught everyone off guard, especially since the open source TrueCrypt recently passed an independent security audit. The developers of TrueCrypt have not responded to queries about their sudden abandonment of the project.

See this article for alternatives to TrueCrypt.

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