Here are some recent blog posts from some other About.com Guides in our Computing Channel that I found interesting... and thought you might too:
How Google Glass Works: A Visual Guide [Infographic] - Melanie Pinola [Mobile Office Technology]
Google Voice Integrated in Google Hangouts - Nadeem Unuth [Voice Over IP]
Why Telecommuting Is Good for the Environment (and How to Green Your Home Office) - Melanie Pinola [Mobile Office Technology]
Apple Testifies at Senate Committee on Tax Policy - Tom Nelson [Macs]
Tips For Hiding From Google - Andy O'Donnell [Internet / Network Security]
Edit Photos on Windows 8 with Adobe's Free Photoshop Express App - Melanie Pinola [Mobile Office Technology]
Latest Version of Google Chrome Brings Awesome New Conversational Search Feature - Elise Moreau [Web Trends]
Stealth Yourself Online - Andy O'Donnell [Internet / Network Security]
Rumor Has It Vimeo and Flickr Will Be Built into iOS 7 - Elise Moreau [Web Trends]
U.S. Rocket Launch Delayed By Ethernet Cable - Bradley Mitchell [Wireless / Networking]
Tumblr! Joins Yahoo! - Leslie Walker [Social Media]
Small Business Network Security Tips - Andy O'Donnell [Internet / Network Security]
Keep Your Twitter Account Secure with Login Verification - Susan Gunelius [Blogging]
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Most of my work this month involved updating a number of pieces, including updated reviews for CCleaner and CrashPlan+. I also added a number of Q&A's to my Online Backup FAQ, made some changes to my New (and Removed) Commands in Windows 8 list thanks to some feedback from some readers, updated my Windows 8: Important Facts document to include some new information on Windows 8.1, and much more.
Also, in case you missed it, Fierfox 21 is now out, AMD published their Radeon v13.4 drivers, and Microsoft pushed a number of security updates in their May 2013 Patch Tuesday release.
Stay up to date with everything PC Support related by connecting with me on your favorite social network below.
Blu-ray is the latest disc-based storage technology. Depending on the capability of the Blu-ray device, disc capacities range from 25 GB up to 128 GB. This is considerably higher than DVDs which hold anywhere from around 5 GB to 10 GB.
Like most technology, price has dropped considerably over the years. You can now buy a very good Blu-ray player for around $100 USD. Mark Kyrnin, About.com Guide to PC Hardware/Reviews, keeps a list of the best Blu-ray drives that you should check out before you buy one.
Do you have a Blu-ray optical drive in your desktop, or even laptop? If you do, or you think you should, what would you use it for - movie watching, BD-R burning, both? Do you think disc-based data storage is necessary anymore with huge, and more portable flash drives available at ever decreasing prices?
Image © PriceGrabber.com
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Today is Patch Tuesday. May's patches consist of 10 updates that correct 32 unique security issues across Microsoft Windows operating systems and some other Microsoft software.
What Do These Security Updates Do?
These patches from Microsoft update several individual files involved in making Windows and other Microsoft software work.
Do I Need These Security Updates?
You need these updates if you're running any currently supported, 32-bit or 64-bit, Windows operating system: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP, plus Windows server versions and Windows RT.
Security updates are also being pushed for Microsoft Publisher, Word, Visio, Communicator, and Lync. The free Microsoft Word Viewer and Windows Essentials applications are also being updated to fix security-related issues.
A few of this month's updates fix problems so serious that if left unpatched, it's possible that someone could gain access to your computer in very specific situations. These issues are given a Critical severity rating.
Most of the fixes this month aren't quite as serious but are security issues that should be corrected nonetheless. Some of these were given a severity rating of Important while others were categorized as Moderate.
Are There Any Non-Security Updates This Month?
Yes, including several non-security fixes for Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 7, and current Windows Server versions. A Root Certificates update is also being pushed out, as well as several .NET Framework 4.5 updates.
Firmware and driver updates are also going out for Microsoft's Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets.
Also, as usual, Microsoft is pushing this month's update to the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.
There may also be non-security updates included this month for Microsoft software other than Windows. See the Non-Security Updates link below for details.
Patch Tuesday Problems
This blog post has become Grand Central Station for Patch Tuesday problems each month. While updates from Microsoft rarely result in widespread problems with Windows itself, they do frequently cause specific issues with software or drivers provided by other companies.
Please see How To Prevent Windows Updates From Crashing Your PC for a number of preventative measures you should take before applying these updates, including disabling fully automatic updates.
If your computer freezes during the installation of an update, see How To Recover From a Frozen Windows Update Installation for help.
If the updates installed but you're now experiencing a problem, see How To Fix Problems Caused by Windows Updates for advice on how to undo the damage.
See Windows Updates & Patch Tuesday FAQ for answers to other common questions, including "Does Microsoft test these updates before they push them out?" and "Why hasn't Microsoft fixed the problem that their update caused on my computer?!"
Automatically install: via Windows Update.
Manually install: via the individual Security Bulletins listed here. See Do I Have 32-bit or 64-bit Windows? if you're not sure which downloads to choose.
Details from Microsoft: Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for May 2013.
Non-Security Updates: New Non-Security Content for 2013.
Microsoft Surface: update history for the Surface RT and the Surface Pro.
Next Patch Tuesday: will be June 11, 2013.
A Note on the Comments Below:
I update this blog post for each Patch Tuesday by Microsoft so some of the comments left may be for previous Patch Tuesdays. You can tell which Patch Tuesday a comment is referring to by looking at the notation at the end of the comment. For example, comments addressing Patch Tuesday May 2013 will end with [PT: May 2013].
Mozilla released Firefox v21 today, the latest version of their Firefox browser.
The major improvements in Firefox v21 over v20 involve an update to the Social API (which you can read about here), enhancements to the Do Not Track (DNT) feature, and a new feature called The Firefox Health Report, which you can learn more about in Mozilla's blog post about it here.
You can download Firefox v21 here, or just watch for the update notification next time you're using the browser.
In addition to the new features I already mentioned there were a large number o bug fixes, all of which you can read on their Firefox v20.0 Bug Fixes page. A much easier-to-digest highlight of the new features and major fixes can be found here.
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