The Latest From Kevin The Tech Guy - Third Edition

Author

Kevin Lloyd
May 03, 2024

Introduction:

Hello everyone! I hope you’re doing well! Last week was a busy one, and you can check out my blog post on Patreon about that (FREE tier). A few things to talk about for sure.

Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to my FREE newsletter! I appreciate you all, even if you’re just reading this online! Make no mistake, I am THRILLED you’re taking the time to read my newsletters. I sincerely hope the tech news I’m sharing with you is relevant to YOUR life and provides solutions that improve your experiences with technology!

Big news stories aren’t breaking every week, but that’s honestly not my focus. I’m not interested in sensationalism, drama, or invoking outrage. There’s no point telling you about something you can’t do much about. I want to be pragmatic and helpful.

This week, we’re going to touch on more changes coming to your Roku, important settings you should change in Windows 11, and why you should setup the Microsoft Edge browser even if you rarely use it.

Then I’ll mention a few of my Quick Tips, including how to update Microsoft Store apps, turning off suggested ads in Windows 11, and how to disable “Enhanced Ad Privacy” in Chrome.

We’ll finish things off by quickly mentioning a few of my blog posts, something fun, and links to other tech news stories you might also like.

What To Expect:

  • 3 Things To Know

  • 3 Things To Try

  • Something Fun

  • Blog Posts

  • You Might Also Like

3 Things To Know

What’s Going On:

Roku plans to introduce video ads to the Roku OS home screen.

As Sharron Harding at Ars Technica points out, this comes after recent efforts to increase the number of ads present on Roku as you use it, including free ad-supported streaming TV via The Roku Channel, as they call it, and content recommendations on the home screen. This may include AI-driven content based on what you watch.

My Take:

I find Roku's tactics offensive. They continue to "enshittify" technology as companies relentlessly prioritize shareholder value over user experience. The Roku is one of the cheapest streaming devices available, and they're making up for that by showing you more ads.

We have a few Rokus in our home. I hope the video ads on the Home Screen are muted by default. We already see ads for content on The Roku Channel or TV shows or movies advertised by streaming services, and they've done a good job with that, but I'd prefer that space be used to add or improve the user experience instead.

Having ads playing while something is muted sounds isn't great, but depending on the app, maybe it should replace the screensaver that kicks in. The screensaver kicks in after about 10 minutes when it's just on the home screen, though that can be adjusted.

I fully intend to purchase an Apple TV when I can, but I suspect they will eventually find places to put ads there as well. Like Roku, they'll likely want a share of the ad revenue that they see migrating over from traditional TV. No one likes this, but we're not really being given the choice either.

What’s Going On:

Dropbox's blog post explains that its investigation revealed that a third party gained access to "a Dropbox Sign automated system configuration tool." So, basically, a DocuSign clone.

Dropbox has found no evidence that the attacker "accessed the contents of users' accounts, such as their agreements or templates, or their payment information."

No other Dropbox services were affected, including its core cloud file-syncing business.

Dropbox Sign is forcing users to reset their passwords and log out of devices connected to their accounts. They are also forcing users to reset their API keys and OAuth tokens.

This is Dropbox's second security breach since 2022. Dropbox disclosed a security breach after threat actors stole 130 code repositories by breaching the company's GitHub accounts using stolen employee credentials.

My Take:

The attacker compromised a "service account" used by non-humans to execute applications and run automated services. The account "had privileges to take a variety of actions within Sign's production environment."

Companies really, seriously need to pay much more attention to automated services and accounts within their networks and the privileges and abilities they give them. Attackers are ALWAYS looking for ANY path into a network, particularly corporate networks, to compromise and profit from data.

Until companies face significant consequences for a lack of action in these situations, they will continue to happen.

Although user files were not compromised in this attack, I suspect many customers are looking at other eSignature solutions that they can actually trust. Please ensure you are logged out of your Dropbox Sign account and redo your MFA/2FA security measures.

What’s Going On:

According to GHacks.net (yes, they’re a reputable site), Microsoft has officially confirmed that it will NOT fix the KB5034441 (0x80070643) error on Windows 10. Users ran into the error in January this year.

Simply put, the solution is particular to each computer, and NOT something a generic patch can resolve.

Solutions involve making changes to the partitions on your computer, which you should absolutely NOT do. Please don’t do that. The best thing to do here is IGNORE the update.

My Take:

Making the suggested changes is NOT worth the risk of potentially breaking Windows in the process and thus reinstalling unless you know EXACTLY what you’re doing. Please just ignore the error and the update.

Although Microsoft deems this an important update and pushed it out to ALL Windows 10 computers, it only affects systems configured a certain way. They couldn’t deploy it to only those systems.

Read more about this story and my further thoughts.

3 Things To Try

What’s Going On:

In this Quick Tip, I will talk about how to update apps from the Microsoft Store.

When it comes to updating our computers, we often think of Windows Updates and updating programs we use, but it's important to keep Microsoft Store apps up to date as well since many are included in Windows 10 and 11.

My Take:

Windows Update and some third-party apps will bug you to update them, but it's not often we see notifications to update Microsoft Apps, especially if you're not using them. However, it's important to keep all aspects of our internet-connected computers updated for security.

What’s Going On:

Suggested (Microsoft ads) notifications appear by default in Windows 11, even on the Lock (login) screen. These may not appear if you're not signed in with a Microsoft account. Here's how to turn them off.

My Take:

Microsoft continues to clutter up Windows 10 and Windows 11 with things like this in attempts to convince you to use and pay for more of their products, or those from their partners. At least you can turn it off if you dive into the settings. They don’t make this stuff easy to find.

I honestly can’t recommend Windows at this point, but if you must use it, please take the time to disable crap like this.

What’s Going On:
Google has been gradually rolling out Chrome's "Enhanced Ad Privacy." Unless switched off, it allows websites and Google to target users with ads tailored to their exact online activities and interests using their internet history in the interests of Google's advertising profits.

My Take:

Many call it a "dark pattern," as the "Enhanced Privacy" message is misleading, causing people to think they're receiving better privacy. In fact, the new tailored ads technology is already enabled by default and must be disabled by the user in the browser's settings. There's a tiny link to your settings to disable the settings if you wish.

This is dishonest by Google in terms of their intentions, particularly the pop-up message they show users. In my view, they are once again prioritizing profits over the user experience and user privacy.

Something Fun:

The Mark Cherrington Podcast – Episode 1 – Introducing Mark Cherrington and the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights

In this inaugural episode of Mark's podcast, we discuss his advocacy work focused on dignity, justice, human rights, and homelessness. He emphasizes that his efforts are solely supported by donations, with no government funding involved. Mark discusses the nature of his work, the formation of the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, and their dedication to meaningful advocacy.

Heavy stuff at times, but I promise you it’s a great conversation and we fit in a few laughs.

Here are the Show Notes. You can also watch on YouTube or listen in your favorite podcast app!

Blog Posts:

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