Geek Squeaks (#2015-36) FEATURING — Control What People See About You On Google Services — and MORE GREAT STUFF

Control What People See About You On Google Services – If you are a subscriber to any of Google’s services, it is important to know that you can control what people see about you at aboutme.google.com. While you are there, click on the privacy checkup where you can review and adjust what data Google uses to personalize your experience, and update what information you share with friends or make public.

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Safely AND Quickly Hide Files and Folders – If you are looking for a way to hide a file or folder, then take a look at WinMend. I can tell you that I have used WinMend for the past several years and I have never lost a file.  The WinMend site states it, like this; “While ensuring the absolute system safety, this application can quickly hide files and folders on local partitions and/or on removable devices. The hidden files/folders will be safely hidden whether the drive is accessed in another operating system on the same computer or reinstalled on another computer”. I have added WinMend to the downloads page, located under the FREE SOFTWARE swarm…

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Using The Disk Cleanup Tool In Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 – Cnet has a nice tutorial (click here), on how to clean up the junk in Windows using the built-in cleanup tool. The tutorial covers each aspect of what the tool removes and cleans from your system such as the browser thumbnail cache, system files, system restore files, the hibernation cache, and the recycle bin.

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A Tool To Reset And Repair Windows Update Related Components – The Windows Club posted this article, Reset Windows Update to default in Windows 10, that features using the Windows Update Component Tool (aka Reset Windows Update Agent) to reset and repair the components to the Windows Update service. The tool itself is available from Technet – click here

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MORE Quick Links To Amazon Holiday Deals – As you probably have noticed I have an obsession with Amazon and the challenge of locating their best deals. As Christmas gift giving (and receiving) nears, I really go on the hunt to bookmark links to their holiday deals.  Below is my latest collection to share with you.

Quick Links

Today’s Deals

Cyber Monday

12 Days of Deals

Last-Minute Deals

Year-End Deals

Black Friday

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– Earth’s Biggest Selection – 

A 5 Stars Windows Repair Utility

First statement I need to make here is that the Tweaking.com – Windows Repair utility, featured in this article, is for those who are computer techs and the geeks in the family. Second statement I need to make is that I cannot say enough about how good this utility is.

Tweaking.com – Windows Repair has helped me personally make repairs to computers where the Windows operating system has become corrupted; whether it be from end user error, a malware infection or Windows just stopped playing nice. It has served me (just recently) in repairing a Windows Update issue (where Windows stopped playing nice), a Windows Service issue (caused by a Windows Update) and in repairing a winsock/dns issue that surfaced after removal of a malware infection from a PC. I always have an updated (portable) version of this utility available.

Word of advice – Follow the steps as exactly outlined with this utility and as always use the internet to research any clues you are seeing that may be the cause of the issue. This will ensure that you can pinpoint what option to select when attempting a repair. If not sure, run the utility in its’ entirety, but be patient as it goes to work.

Tweaking.com – Windows Repair is an all-in-one repair tool to help fix a large majority of known Windows problems including:

 Unhide Non System Files
 Repair problems with .lnk (Shortcuts)
 File Association
 WMI
 Windows Firewall
 Internet Explorer
 Windows Installer (MSI)
 Hosts File
 Policies Set By Infections
 Icons
 Winsock & DNS Cache
 Proxy Settings
 Windows Updates
 CD/DVD Missing/Not Working
 Reset Registry and File Permissions
 Register System Files
 Remove Temp Files
 and more… 

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I Just Changed The Way I Receive Windows Updates AND Here Is Why…

I cannot stress enough, from a computer security standpoint, the importance of the Windows Updates. Microsoft goes to great lengths to keep our PC’s safe; HOWEVER, this past week I had an experience on a brand new PC that I had customized to my liking where I believe a Windows Update caused me a lot of grief. I experienced similar symptoms, as reported at 404 Tech Support, where they made determination that a specific update on machines with the Avast Anti-Virus installed caused the following symptoms to occur:

• Restarting or shutting down would never complete
• Uninstalling a program would hang
• Certain startup programs would never launch
• Opening computer properties (Right-click on This PC, select Properties) would never open

In my case, I experienced the exact same symptoms; HOWEVER, was not the same cause(s). I did not (initially) install the update as indicated in the 404 Tech Support article and do not have Avast installed. My problem started out when I booted my Windows 81. box and was greeted with a message indicating that Windows was installing new features and telling me to wait. Of course I am scratching my head going, “What new features???  I didn’t install or ask for any new features”. Needless to say, the computer hung on that screen (and message) and did not move forward. I ended up booting into the Windows reset, refresh and restore options. I attempted a restore and that did not work properly, as well. I performed a reboot again, and the PC did start to the desktop; however, that is when I experienced the symptoms as reflected above. After a second start of the computer, the computer started to run properly (for whatever reason). I immediately ran a scan for malware and checked all areas (startup, processes, services, etc…) to make sure I was not hit with something.

The only thing that I could come up with was when I went to do the Windows restore, the restore point was showing that Windows updates KB2920189 and KB3011780 had been installed. Update KB3011780 was showing in the Windows Updates history that it had been cancelled at one point, but also showed on the same date it did install successfully. It is my thinking that this update may have caused the issues I was experiencing.

After getting things back in order and the computer running properly. I manually downloaded the update as reflected in the article 404 Tech Support had problems with (which showed as an optional update on my PC) and the update installed with no issue on my PC. Note: By the way, that optional update (KB8000850) is a large core Windows update.

Needless to say, after reading the article at 404 Tech Support and my own experience with a potential Windows Update that went wild, I now have my computer configured to “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download or install them…”.

I do not recommend this setting, but from a troubleshooting standpoint, I am going this route for now. There have been too many Windows 8 (8.1) updates that have caused problems and this will put me in control to monitor the updates more closely and to educate myself more about Windows Updates.

If anyone else experienced a Windows Update issue, please feel free to share your experience and comment below…

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Looking For An Online File Storage Option? Give OneDrive A Try

[FEATURED GEEK SQUEAK] Looking For An Online File Storage Option? Give OneDrive A Try– If you are looking for a reputable place to store online files, you may want to sign up for a Microsoft OneDrive Account.

You will automatically receive, for FREE, 7GBs of online storage space that can be used to store your files, such as documents, pictures, videos, etc…  If you [click here] and sign up today, you will get an additional 0.5GBs of space on top of the 7GBs.  Once you have signed up, make sure you download the OneDrive Software that will give you the ability to sync files on your computer with your OneDrive account. Once the software is installed you will see a OneDrive folder on your PC. OneDrive is also available for the Windows Tablet, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Xbox.

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Learn a byte at a time, at What’s On My PC, with Geek Squeaks’ — featuring a round-up of tech products, news, software, apps, wallpapers, articles, you name it… I just plain love tech!

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MORE GEEK SQUEAKS

[ANDROID] ES File Explorer is a free, full-featured file and application manager – It functions as all of these apps in one: file manager, application manager, task killer, download manager, cloud storage client (compatible with Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box.net, Sugarsync, Yandex, Amazon S3, and Ubuntu One…), FTP client, and LAN Samba client. It provides access to pictures, music, video, documents, and other files on both your Android devices and your computers… @Google Play

[WINDOWS SOFTWARE] PDF Eraser is a free Windows application that deletes and erases text, images, logos and all unnecessary objects from PDF files – 100% FREE… @PDF Eraser

[WALLPAPER] – High Def @URHDWALLPAPERS

[WEB BROWSER TOOL] The Only Cross-browser Snapshot Tool – Capture single or multiple webpages with qSnap. 100% Browser Based – 100% Free – 100% Awesome… @qSnap

[HACK] Ikea Tablet Rack – While looking for a wooden plat rack to store my iPad, e-readers and Android Tablets, I came across this metal rack from Ikea. Only €4,95 and capable of storing up to 6 tablets… @Ikea Hackers

[TECH TOOLBOX] 5 SysInternals Utilities Updated Today – Five, count them, five Sysinternals utilities saw updated releases today. The Sysinternals suite continues to be some of the most popular, free utilizes for systems administrators… @WindowsITPro

[WINDOWS SOFTWARE] Reporting on Internet Browsing History by Site, Date, and Time – BrowsingHistoryView is a single executable that can, when run, retrieve and display browsing history information for visited URL, page title, time visited, how many times the page was visited, the web browser used, and the user profile doing the browsing. BrowsingHistoryView supports Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and SeaMonkey… @WindowsITPro

[TABLET ACCESSORIES] BlueMart ® 6Pcs Colorful Portable Foldable Smartphone and Tablet Stand – [click here]

Watch movies, surf the net, read content on your device hands free. Suitable for landscape and Vertical View. Dimensions: 4.5″(L) x 1.25″(W)… @Amazon

[WINDOWS 8.1] Help, Windows 8 refusing to install major update! – Now on to this week’s topic from member Matthew, who has been having difficulties updating a few Windows 8 computers to Windows 8.1 and finds that attempting to do the update corrupts the OS. He has noted that all of these machines that are having problems were previously upgraded from Windows 7 to 8… @c|net

[HARDWARE] Best Video Cards: April 2014 – As April comes to a close we’re back once again with our monthly guide to video cards… @AnandTech

[ANDROID] 10 common mistakes Android newbies make – ​If you’re just learning the Android ropes, you might get tangled up in a mistake or two. Here are 10 ways to avoid problems and get the maximum benefit from your Android device… @TechRepublic

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Update Microsoft Windows Without An Internet Connection

There are still folks out there that I know personally that are on a dialup internet connection and not by choice. Broadband service just is not there and any mention of using a 3G, 4G or satellite connection is too expensive and besides those services can be sketchy at best, depending on the location and the environment.

What these folks run into, and I’m working with someone on this now, is that due to the dialup speeds in these remote locations not even being up to standard (due to poor telephone lines), downloading the Windows updates that they need for their PC’s ends up being nothing but pure process of drudgery. Think about it, if you are already on a slow dialup connection and you have your updates set to auto update, when those weekly auto updates kick in,  the connection speed slows down that much further. Couple that with other security software updates and general software updates and I think you can see what I mean about a pure process of drudgery.

To workaround this problem and get the Windows updates, I use a program called WSUS Offline Update. You will need to find someone with a broadband connection who is willing to use WSUS Offline Update software on their PC and willing to download the updates for you. You will also need to know what operating system you are using (i.e. Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7).

With WSUS Offline Update there are two components to the software. One is the “Generator” interface that you use to select the what language and Operating system you need the updates for.  You can even tell the “Generator” to copy the updates to a flash drive; which, you can then use to update the target computer.

When downloading the updates, a command console window (see below) will appear and you will see the software going to work to pull down the updates. Do not be alarmed if the first time you perform this process that it takes a long time (even on a broadband connection).  A long time can be an hour to several hours, but you have to do what you have to do.

The second component built into WSUS Offline Update is the “Installer” that you use on the target computer.  To start up the installer look for the file “Updateinstaller.exe”, double click on it and the “Installer” interface will initiate with various selections to help you through the update process.

There are other options out there to download the Windows Updates; however, I have found the WSUS Offline Update utility to be the winner.

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Hot Tech Site of the Day – File Forum

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Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard (Built-in TouchPad/Laser Pointer)

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