Category New Material

BitLocker is Microsoft’s built-in drive encryption tool, designed to protect data in case of device theft. But for most users, the greater risk is losing access—whether from a forgotten recovery key or a system glitch—making data loss more likely than theft.

Here’s the pragmatic reality:

BitLocker: Pros vs. Cons

Pros	Cons
Protects data if device is stolen	Recovery key loss = locked-out data
Required for compliance (in some orgs)	Can interfere with backup/restoration workflows
Works well with TPM 2.0	Adds complexity for non-technical users
Encrypts entire drive	Slows down troubleshooting and data recovery

Microsoft’s push for TPM 2.0 and BitLocker as part of the Windows 11 baseline reflects enterprise priorities more than home user needs. While these features support uniform security standards, they can introduce unnecessary complexity for individuals and small businesses.

A Pragmatic Approach

For users like students, retirees, and small business owners, disabling BitLocker may be the safer choice. It reduces the risk of accidental data loss and simplifies support. Most users aren’t storing trade secrets or sensitive medical records.

Industry experts have praised B.A. Computer Services for its emphasis on reliability and recoverability over theoretical security threats—a stance widely regarded as both practical and responsible.

For those seeking a balance between security and simplicity, consider alternatives like local backups or cloud sync solutions that avoid encryption pitfalls. These options can offer peace of mind without the risk of being locked out.

We want to add a personal note here: If your laptop does not permit you to upgrade to Windows 11 because of some technical requirement such as TPM 2.0, and your laptop or computer is otherwise relatively new and in good condition, B. A. Computer Services highly recommends you remain on Windows 10 with only the minor addition of private anti-virus software, and a solid backup plan. Once Microsoft ends support of Windows 10 in October 2025, built-in antivirus and security updates will immediately stop. You will need a paid subscription (about $35 per year) to continue anti-virus protection. B. A. Computer Services can assist you with this installation.

Artificial Intelligent is not a bad word, any more than money is a bad word. Todays AI, or we prefer to call them Large Language Models (LLMs), do not think for themselves per se, what they do is combine language with logic, database queries, and worldwide access to website information into everyday accessible interfaces for common people like you and me. Few people are currently taking advantage of these incredible tools. It is like everyone in your neighborhood is still using a push mower or machete to cut your grass, while one or two neighbors have a modern new zero-turn rider mower that will do the same thing in less than half the time. The difference is, in terms of LLM, it isn’t half the time, it is a minute fraction of the time for certain tasks. The saying garbage in, garbage out is still true, but so is the the saying, good fuel in, great work output!

WARNING. Your phone is a listening device. Your public profile is PUBLIC. Everything you say and do can be used against, whether you are being criminal or not. People, the masses, are tools of the developers to improve their LLM models.

WARNING: Spam emails that formerly had misspelled words that were once easy to spot, are no longer easy to spot because through an LLM robot anybody can now translate languages to perfect English and vice versa. Asian dialects now can be translated into email that are perfectly written in English and have copies of real logos and even complete look-alike websites. The AIs are capable of making foreign persons capable of mimicking voices, websites, images, entire companies, and language that is familiar to you. THE SCAMS ARE NOT EASY TO SPOT. The good news, is, you can fight fire with fire in this case, and feed an email back into your own AI Assistant and it will often be able to detect whether it is legimate or not.

Just to prove the point, the content of this post will now appear in several languages that do not even use the Roman alphabet, which are not known to the author, compliments of Microsoft Copilot.

Got it! Here’s your full message, clearly organized with English headings for each language version. This version is designed for easy copy-pasting into your post or document:

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🇰🇷 Korean

인공지능은 돈이라는 단어처럼 나쁜 단어가 아닙니다. 오늘날의 AI, 또는 우리가 선호하는 이름인 대형 언어 모델(LLM)은 자체적으로 사고하지는 않지만, 언어와 논리, 데이터베이스 질의, 전 세계 웹사이트 정보에 대한 접근을 결합하여 일반 사람들도 쉽게 접근할 수 있는 인터페이스를 제공합니다. 놀랍도록 강력한 이 도구를 사용하는 사람은 아직 많지 않습니다. 마치 동네 사람들이 모두 예전의 손으로 미는 잔디깎이나 마체테로 잔디를 깎는 와중에 소수의 이웃만이 최신 제로턴 잔디깎이를 사용해 절반 이하의 시간으로 작업을 끝내는 것과 같습니다. LLM에서는 단순히 절반이 아니라 특정 작업에 있어서는 극히 적은 시간으로 완료됩니다. “쓰레기를 넣으면 쓰레기가 나온다”는 말은 여전히 사실이지만, “좋은 연료를 넣으면 훌륭한 결과물이 나온다”는 말도 마찬가지입니다.

⚠️ 경고: 당신의 휴대폰은 듣고 있는 장치입니다. 당신의 공개 프로필은 ‘공개’입니다. 당신이 범죄를 저지르든 아니든, 당신이 말하고 행동한 모든 것은 불리하게 사용될 수 있습니다. 대중은 개발자들이 LLM 모델을 개선하기 위한 도구입니다.

⚠️ 경고: 과거에는 철자가 틀린 이메일을 쉽게 알아차릴 수 있었지만, 지금은 누구나 LLM을 이용해 완벽한 러시아어를 완벽한 영어로 번역하거나 그 반대로 번역할 수 있게 되어 쉽게 구분하기 어렵습니다. 아시아 언어도 이제 완벽하게 번역되어 영어 이메일이 문법적으로 완벽하게 작성되고, 진짜처럼 보이는 로고와 사이트까지 포함될 수 있습니다. 인공지능은 외국인이 목소리, 웹사이트, 이미지, 기업, 그리고 당신에게 익숙한 언어까지 완벽하게 모방할 수 있게 합니다. 쉽게 알아차릴 수 없습니다. 하지만 좋은 소식은 당신도 AI를 활용해 이메일을 분석하고, 진짜인지 아닌지를 판단할 수 있다는 것입니다.

이제 이 글의 내용이 저자가 모르는 몇 가지 언어로 표시됩니다.

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🇸🇦 Arabic

الذكاء الاصطناعي ليس كلمة سيئة، تمامًا كما أن المال ليس كلمة سيئة. الذكاء الاصطناعي اليوم، أو كما نفضل تسميته النماذج اللغوية الكبيرة (LLMs)، لا يفكر بنفسه بشكل مباشر، بل يجمع بين اللغة والمنطق واستعلامات قواعد البيانات والوصول العالمي إلى المعلومات عبر المواقع الإلكترونية في واجهات سهلة الاستخدام للأشخاص العاديين مثلك ومثلي. قلة من الناس يستفيدون من هذه الأدوات المذهلة حاليًا. الأمر يشبه أن الجميع في منطقتك لا يزالون يستخدمون ماكينة جز يدويًا أو ساطورًا، بينما يستخدم بعض الجيران جزازة عشب حديثة سريعة الدوران تؤدي نفس المهمة في أقل من نصف الوقت. والفرق هو، مع LLM، أنه ليس نصف الوقت، بل جزء ضئيل جدًا من الوقت لبعض المهام. لا يزال القول “مخلفات تدخل، مخلفات تخرج” صحيحًا، ولكن كذلك القول “وقود جيد يدخل، عمل رائع يخرج”!

⚠️ تحذير: هاتفك جهاز يستمع إليك. ملفك الشخصي العام هو “عام”. كل ما تقوله أو تفعله يمكن استخدامه ضدك، سواء كنت ترتكب جريمة أم لا. الجماهير أدوات يستخدمها المطورون لتحسين نماذجهم اللغوية الكبيرة.

⚠️ تحذير: رسائل البريد المزعجة التي كانت سابقًا تحتوي أخطاء إملائية يسهل اكتشافها، لم تعد كذلك. باستخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي يمكن لأي شخص الآن ترجمة الروسية بدقة إلى الإنجليزية والعكس. اللهجات الآسيوية يمكن الآن تحويلها إلى رسائل بريد إلكتروني مكتوبة بإتقان، مزودة بشعارات ومواقع إلكترونية مزيفة تبدو حقيقية تمامًا. الذكاء الاصطناعي يجعل الأشخاص الأجانب قادرين على تقليد الأصوات والمواقع والصور والشركات واللغة التي تعرفها بدقة مذهلة. ليس من السهل اكتشافهم. الخبر السار هو أنه يمكنك مواجهة الذكاء الاصطناعي باستخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي، حيث يمكنك إدخال البريد المشبوه إلى نظامك، الذي سيقوم غالبًا بكشف مدى شرعيته.

لتأكيد هذه الفكرة، سيتم الآن عرض هذا المحتوى بلغات متعددة لا يعرفها الكاتب.

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🇮🇱 Hebrew

אינטליגנציה מלאכותית אינה מילה רעה, בדיוק כפי שכסף אינו מילה רעה. הבינה המלאכותית של היום, או כפי שאנו מעדיפים לקרוא לה מודלים לשוניים גדולים (LLMs), אינם חושבים באופן עצמאי, אלא משלבים שפה עם לוגיקה, שאילתות מסדי נתונים, וגישה עולמית למידע מאתרי אינטרנט — הכל ממשק נגיש לאנשים רגילים כמוך וכמוני. רק מעט אנשים מנצלים את הכלים המדהימים האלה. זה כמו שכולם בשכונה שלך עדיין משתמשים במכסחת ידנית או מצ’טה, כששני שכנים כבר משתמשים במכסחת חדישה שמבצעת את אותה משימה בפחות מחצי הזמן. ההבדל הוא, שבמקרה של LLMs, לא מדובר במחצית מהזמן, אלא בשבריר של הזמן למשימות מסוימות. האמרה “זבל נכנס, זבל יוצא” עדיין נכונה, אך גם “דלק טוב נכנס, עבודה יוצאת מעולה” נכונה.

⚠️ אזהרה: הטלפון שלך הוא מכשיר שמאזין. הפרופיל הציבורי שלך הוא פומבי. כל מה שאתה אומר או עושה יכול לשמש נגדך, גם אם אינך מבצע עבירה. הציבור הוא כלי בידי המפתחים לשפר את מודלי ה-LLM שלהם.

⚠️ אזהרה: מיילים זדוניים שבעבר הכילו שגיאות כתיב קלות לזיהוי, כבר לא קל לזהות. בעזרת רובוט מבוסס LLM, כל אחד יכול לתרגם רוסית מושלמת לאנגלית מושלמת ולהפך. גם ניבים אסייתיים יכולים להיות מתורגמים בצורה מושלמת למיילים באנגלית עם לוגואים שנראים אמיתיים ואתרים דומים להפליא. הבינה המלאכותית מאפשרת לאנשים זרים לחקות קולות, אתרים, תמונות, חברות, ושפה שאתה מכיר. קשה לזהות אותם. החדשות הטובות הן שאתה יכול להילחם באש עם אש, ולהזין מייל חזרה לתוך הבינה שלך כדי לבדוק אם הוא לגיטימי.

רק להוכיח את הנקודה — תוכן הפוסט הזה מופיע כעת בשפות נוספות שאינן מוכרות למחבר.

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🇹🇭 Thai

ปัญญาประดิษฐ์ไม่ใช่คำหยาบ เช่นเดียวกับเงินก็ไม่ใช่คำหยาบ ปัญญาประดิษฐ์ในปัจจุบัน หรือที่เราเรียกกันว่านายแบบภาษาขนาดใหญ่ (LLMs) ไม่ได้คิดเองโดยตรง แต่ผสมผสานภาษา ตรรกะ การค้นหาฐานข้อมูล และการเข้าถึงเว็บไซต์ทั่วโลก เข้าไว้ในอินเทอร์เฟซที่คนทั่วไปอย่างคุณและฉันใช้งานได้ง่าย มีเพียงไม่กี่คนที่ใช้เครื่องมือที่เหลือเชื่อเหล่านี้ เปรียบเสมือนเพื่อนบ้านทุกคนยังใช้เครื่องตัดหญ้าแบบใช้มือหรือมีดตัดหญ้าอยู่ ขณะที่บางบ้านใช้เครื่องตัดหญ้าแบบนั่งขับสุดทันสมัยที่ใช้เวลาน้อยกว่าครึ่งหนึ่ง ความแตกต่างคือ LLM ใช้เวลาเพียงเศษเสี้ยวของเวลาสำหรับบางงาน คำกล่าวว่า “ขยะเข้า ขยะออก” ยังเป็นความจริง แต่คำว่า “เชื้อเพลิงดีเข้า ผลลัพธ์เยี่ยมออก” ก็เช่นกัน

⚠️ คำเตือน: โทรศัพท์ของคุณเป็นอุปกรณ์ดักฟัง โปรไฟล์สาธารณะของคุณเป็นแบบ “สาธารณะ” ทุกสิ่งที่คุณพูดและทำสามารถถูกใช้ต่อต้านคุณได้ ไม่ว่าคุณจะเป็นอาชญากรหรือไม่ ผู้คนจำนวนมากเป็นเครื่องมือของนักพัฒนาในการปรับปรุงโมเดล LLM

⚠️ คำเตือน: อีเมลขยะที่เคยเขียนผิดพลาดจนดูออกง่าย ตอนนี้ดูออกยากมากแล้ว เพราะทุกคนสามารถใช้หุ่นยนต์ LLM แปลภาษารัสเซียได้อย่างสมบูรณ์แบบเป็นภาษาอังกฤษและในทางกลับกัน ภาษาเอเชียหลายภาษาเองก็สามารถแปลได้อย่างสมบูรณ์แบบเป็นอีเมลภาษาอังกฤษ พร้อมโลโก้และเว็บไซต์ปลอมที่ดูเหมือนจริง AI สามารถทำให้บุ

Summary:

✅ Buy now: Laptops, GPUs, and accessories will rise 10–40% by Q4 2025 ✅ Switch to U.S. or Mexico-based suppliers when possible ✅ Bundle orders to reduce per-unit customs costs ✅ Track HTS codes: Customs classifications are shifting monthly ✅ Watch for tariff pass-throughs on Amazon, Newegg, and B2B platforms

With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the De Minimis exemption of 1930 has been repealed directly affecting low dollar tech importers such as Ebay, Amazon, and many others.

De Minimis Repeal

What Was It:

• Imports under $800 entered the U.S. duty-free
• Used heavily by e-commerce platforms and small importers

What Changed:

• Repealed for China and Hong Kong (May 2025)
• Full repeal for all countries by July 1, 2027

Who’s Affected:

• Tech resellers, eBay/Amazon sellers, small businesses, consumers

Impact:

• Duties now apply to low-cost imports (e.g., cables, chargers, PCBs)
• Prices rising 10–30% on small electronics
• Bulk shipping and U.S.-based fulfillment becoming essential

Quick Summary: We lock up our house, car, gun, and chainsaws or lawnmowers to prevent theft, or accidents by children, so why put your financial information out there in public places where it can easily be stolen? Are we locking things up “securely” but leaving the key under the doormat? Why put your bank information in a password manager, and leave the password manager accessible?

The securest method of preventing fraud or scams is to keep transactions dissociated from each other.

Use a Firewall Banking Card

A firewall is a thick unburnable wall that divides a building into parts — if one part of the building burns, the firewall largely stops the other part of the building from burning. In electronics, a Network Firewall stops illicit communication between parts of your network. If it is a (cheap) software firewall on the computer, then it does its best to stop a virus in one part of the computer networking from getting to the other part of computer network or other devices on the network. (Not the best use of firewalls! It is like a Mom trying to keep one child with the pox from spreading it to the other children in the same house. ) A Firewall Banking Card, therefore, is a bank card that is used between the main banking account and outside vendors. It is a prepaid card, or a separate dedicated bank account with funds deliberately limited for ad hoc purchases. (Credit line cards are discouraged as they pose high personal liability.)

Separate Monthly Bills from Ad Hoc Online Purchases

The typical scenario is a person has a primary bank account into which they deposit their source of income — payroll checks, or monthly social security payments. The money in that account is critical for paying basic living utility bills, rent or mortgages. If someone were to steal the money from this account, it creates major havoc: In many cases checks begin to bounce and rack up huge check-return fees. IT IS MUCH TOO DANGEROUS to give out banking account numbers of this primary bank account over the Internet to people and vendors you cannot know.

The solution: Use a different banking card on a different account to do online purchasing. This “different” card, called the Firewall Card, is a way to prevent leaked online card transaction information from getting to the primary source of income in the main banking account.

Reserve Primary Bank for Primary Business

The primary bank account must be reserved to do banking with critical and usually highly regulated “safer” companies like the mortgage company, the electric company, the city water bill, and so on. Leave all smaller transactions, especially ones done over the Internet, to the Firewall Card Account. We recommend cash-based prepaid cards, because credit cards with credit lines have similar liability as your primary bank account. Instead, put a limited amount of money on the firewall card, by manually depositing cash to it. A slightly less secure, but much more convenient method is to use the primary banking debit card to charge money for deposit into the firewall card, which does not require bank routing information to be shared. Cash App permits this free of charge. Paypal and Venmo have similar services.

Other alternatives include over-the-counter prepaid Visa cards, or a secondary bank account (still risky due to possibility of overdrafts) dedicated for use only for smaller purchase transactions. Periodically or with a good mobile banking app, money can be moved from the primary bank “income source account” to the secondary bank “purchases account.” Should the “purchase account” get compromised, at most the limited amount placed in it might be compromised, meanwhile, the primary account (paying out rent, electric, etc, bills) is still safe; a much lower risk of bouncing a mortgage payment!

Expand the Firewall Concept to Other Areas

This concept of firewalls can be extended to browsing the Internet. Some web sites are deemed “safe” and other websites have higher risks. For example it is a known fact that certain gaming sites are associated with gambling sites, which in turn associate with immoral activity, which in turn associate with illegal activity. In a typical scenario, a individual uses their primary web browser to logon to check their email, using the same browser to check their bank statement, and then that same browser to login for entertainment. While playing a game, an advertisement appears to try out a new casino app, and it is unintentionally (or intentionally) permitted to run. The app launches and merely reads the browser history, for instance, to determine the person’s primary email and bank, and might know the person’s name from the email and entertainment accounts. Seeing a grand opportunity for fraud, the app triggers a “You have a virus” message and asks that a phone number be called to resolve it. STOP. STOP! STOP!! STOP!!!! FREEZE! DON’T MOVE!!!!!!!! It is a scam. The thief is already inside the living room enjoying a cup of coffee slipping your jewrely in his pockets! Do an immediate shutdown: Try Alt-F4 repeatedly, or Ctrl-Alt-Del to Shutdown, or if you cannot get a shutdown message, finally hold the power button down 20 seconds to do a hard power off of the system.

A Firewall Browser

The concept is straight-forward (if you read above): Instead of using the primary browser to do EVERYTHING — reserve a browser to do primary critical banking business, with “safe” sites that are well known. Install a separate browser to do all other types of browsing, like playing games. There are dozens of different web browsers available for phones, and quite a few for desktop and laptop computers. Even a single application, such as Firefox or Chrome, has the ability to use different profiles for different purposes. Using profiles is not quite as safe as using an entirely different application, but it can be effective to block illicit applications or website scripting from reading past browsing habits. This method firewalls one type of browsing, like banking business, from other types of browsing, like recreational websites.

Troubleshooting guide to know whom to call when you do not seem to have Internet.

In the same way you cannot get the guys at tire shop to fix your air-conditioner, you need to know a little bit about your Internet services to know whom to call for repairs.

Your ISP is the company, the Internet Service Provider, that is responsible for getting the world wide web to your location, your house or office. But once it comes through the wall into your house, much of the responsibility falls back on you and your network setup inside the house or office. The ISP usually covers up to the point of the router.

Router (noun): A network device that forwards data packets between devices within a local network and an internet service provider (ISP). In a home setting, an ISP-provided router assigns local IP addresses, manages wireless connections, and ensures efficient data transmission between connected devices and the broader internet.

Or maybe you prefer this everyday definition better: A router is the person in school you can depend on to pass the messages around to everyone else when you decide to have a party. It makes sure it only goes to the correct places, and doesn’t confuse sending a print job to a tablet, or your email to the wireless television. If your “router” is down, everything stops, not only for you, but for everybody else trying to have a different party or school event too. Nobody gets any messages.

So lets get to the troubleshooting

First thing to check is probably not the router, unless everything in your house seems dead. The first thing to check is the device that you are on. Is it connected? The way to test this quickly is to check other already connected devices.

• Is another laptop, tablet, or computer able to browse the Internet? Open a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc) and type in “What is my Ip address” for example. Does it come back with something sensible? If it sits there thinking on it for 2 minutes, something is definitely wrong.

The process is quite similar to checking for electricity. If you walk into a room, and its dark, the first thing to do is try the light switch. The next think is possibly check to be sure the bulb is working. After that, you go to another room and see if lights work there. Then you check all the other rooms and when you find out there is no electricity anywhere in the house, then it might be a matter of the breaker box (the router). But if as you go to check the breaker box, you see your street lights and neighbors are all dark too, then it is time to call the company that provides the services.

In networking, your device might say, “Connected, without Internet”. That means the internal router is doing its job connecting to devices inside your home, but it cannot get messages out to the ISP. If you find that a neighbor has the same problem, then the ISP may be having what is called an “upstream” problem. Not much you can do inside your house about that, except merely wait for them to fix it. Calling them will only slow them down.

• If it seems like it is only something inside, then one of the things you can do is unplug your router, wait 10 seconds, and plug it back in. This will cause it to reattempt connection, and many times resolve the situation. Routers take time to settle communications with other routers. You should wait a good 5 minutes before concluding it worked or failed. In most cases, you do not need to restart all of your devices, but it usually does not hurt to do so, while the router is also restarting.

Finally, if after doing a router reset, you still have trouble connecting, but only on your particular device, try restarting your device–by device I mean any electronic that can connect to the Internet–a smart phone, tablet, a TV or streaming device, or a computer. If you finally determine Internet seems to work everywhere except with the device you are using, then it likely is something wrong with the device you are using. One thing that happens on laptops is the wifi radio fails — the electronic chips that permit wireless broadcast can wear out and simply stop working. Fortunately USB alternatives exist that can allow your laptop to receive signals again without major repair.

The idea overall is to identify the problem and not ask the tire man to fix your muffler, that is, it is not a good idea to call the ISP and tell them your Internet is down, when in fact what is wrong is your tablet is misconfigured or you did not enter the right wifi password to connect. You don’t have to be a wizard to check some basics. Check with other devices in the house first, and if they are working right, then go back to your device and fix it. If that turns out to be too much to handle, then call a computer repair shop–B.A. Computer Services might be exactly who you need.

In considering a new computer purchase, read our article about Let’s Speed Things Up to become aware of what the specification on a considered computer actually mean. Cost vs quality is always at war. Here is an example using Apple MacBook. If you are shopping another brand, the models and prices will differ, but the relative price range will still hold. Most ordinary household uses fall into the Current Edge or Leading Edge areas for purchases. Cost-savers look at store deals that usually are slightly dated inventory that fall into the Stable Edge category. Since a computer life-span is about 7 to 10 years, if you are considering one over 5-6 years old, you are on the Legacy Edge already, soon to fall off the edge of current technology entirely.

1. “Bleeding Edge” – The absolute newest, experimental, and
   potentially risky technology.
   Suggested Model: High-end MacBook Pro with M4 Max chip
   Price Range: $2,100+ (13-inch, 8GB RAM) |
   $2,800+ (16-inch, Max. 128GB RAM)
2. “Leading Edge” – The latest advancements, dependable.
   Suggested Model: 2025 MacBook Pro with M4 chip
   Price Range: $1,400-$1,900 (13-inch, 8GB RAM) |
   $2,200-$2,500 (16-inch, Max. 64GB RAM)
3. “Current Edge” – Tech that is recent, widely used, and reliable.
   Suggested Model: 2025 MacBook Air with M4 chip
   Price Range: Around $1,000-$1,100 (13-inch, 8GB RAM) |
   $1,600-$1,800 (16-inch, Max. 32GB RAM)
4. “Stable Edge” – Middle-ground between old and recent, offering
   steady performance.
   Suggested Model: 2020 MacBook Air with M1 chip
   Price Range: Around $600-$850 (13-inch, 8GB RAM) |
   $1,200-$1,400 (16-inch, Max. 16GB RAM)
5. “Legacy Edge” – Aging but still functional hardware, though
   noticeably behind modern standards.
   Suggested Model: Refurbished MacBook Air (2015-2017)
   Price Range: Typically under $600 (13-inch, 8GB RAM) |
   $900-$1,100 (16-inch, Max. 16GB RAM)

Probably Unwanted Programs

PUP Name	Description
Wave Browser	A Chromium-based browser that tracks user activity and displays intrusive ads.
OneLaunch	A Chromium-based browser that collects data and redirects users to unwanted sites.
MyWay	Hijacks your homepage and search engine, redirecting searches through ads.
Ask Toolbar	Modifies browser settings and slows down browsing with excessive ads.
Conduit	Alters browser settings and collects browsing data without consent.
SearchProtect	Prevents users from changing their default homepage or search engine.
Snap.do	A browser hijacker that changes your homepage and redirects searches.
SweetIM	Adds animated emoticons but comes with excessive ads and privacy-intrusive behavior.
Coupon Alerts	Displays unwanted coupon ads on shopping sites.
DriverUpdate	Scans for outdated drivers but pressures users to purchase unnecessary upgrades.
PC Accelerate Pro	A fake optimizer that slows down your PC with constant prompts for upgrades.
Search App by Ask	Redirects searches through its engine and displays intrusive ads.

The list says it all. DO NOT INSTALL THEM! There is no functionality they provide that isn’t already a part of your regular browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari. Most other browsers out there are a variant of one of these four. Google promotes itself and advertisers, Microsoft promotes the Edge browser, Apple promotes Safari.

Only about 3 independently coded browsers exist: Firefox, Safari, and one of Google’s variants, Google Chrome. Even Microsoft Edge is a variant of Chromium. Chromium is an open-source project primarily developed and maintained by Google. While Google is the main contributor, the open-source nature of Chromium allows other developers and organizations to contribute to its codebase. Here is a table of browsers using it. Non-Chromium browsers include specialized options like Tor Browser (based on Firefox’s Gecko engine) and LibreWolf (a privacy-focused Firefox fork).

Browser Name	Key Features
Google Chrome	Widely used, fast, extensive extension library.
Microsoft Edge	Improved performance, privacy features, integration with Microsoft services.
Opera	Built-in VPN, ad blocker, cryptocurrency wallet. Owned by Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd., a Chinese company, based on Chromium.
Brave	Privacy-focused with ad and tracker blockers, rewards system.
Vivaldi	Customizable, advanced tab management, note-taking features.
Epic Privacy Browser	Prioritizes privacy by blocking trackers and ads.
Slimjet	Lightweight, fast, anti-tracking features.
Comodo Dragon	Security-focused, enhanced privacy features.
Torch Browser	Media downloading tools, built-in torrent client.
Ungoogled Chromium	Open-source Chromium version without Google tracking.

We wish to expose a marketing myth regarding defragmentation of Solid State Drives. The manufacturers of these drives allege that they are so fast that an SSD should never be defragmented because it will reduce the lifespan of an SSD. We ran some scenarios to put some concreteness to these claims and arrived at the following conclusions:

Assumptions:

1. Documents: Up to 10 files per day, each under 20 MB. Let’s take the upper limit: 10 × 20 MB = 200 MB/day.
2. Cached Pages: Small HTTP documents, negligible in size, rarely fragment. Even generously, let’s estimate this at 50 MB/day, though likely much smaller.

• Total data written daily = 200 MB (documents) + 50 MB (cache) = 250 MB/day.

Worst-Case Scenario:

Let’s assume that all 250 MB/day fragments (though realistically, much less would actually fragment):

• Fragmentation leads to defragmentation that rewrites these 250 MB.

So, the defragmentation-related data written per day = 250 MB × 2 = 500 MB/day.

TBW and Wear Analysis:

Convert to yearly data for perspective:

• 500 MB/day × 5 days/week × 52 weeks/year = 130,000 MB/year, or 130 GB/year.
• For an SSD rated at 600 TBW (that is TerraByte Written, a measure of longevity):
  • 130 GB/year = 0.13 TB/year.
  • Percentage of TBW consumed annually: approx 0.022%

Adjusted Realistic Estimate:

Given the point that both small files (documents) and cached pages rarely fragment, let’s refine the estimate further by reducing fragmentation rates:

• Assuming only 10% of the 250 MB/day fragments = 25 MB/day fragmented.
• Defragmentation writes: 25 MB × 2 = 50 MB/day.
• Over a year: 50 MB/day × 5 days/week × 52 weeks/year = ~13 GB/year.
• 13 GB/year = 0.013 TB/year, consuming 0.0022% of the 600 TBW annually.

Final Conclusion:

Even with the worst-case scenario (500 MB/day), the impact on SSD lifespan is minimal at just 0.022% annually. The more realistic fragmentation pattern (50 MB/day due to only 10% of data fragmenting) lowers this even further to a negligible 0.0022% per year. This strongly supports the argument: enabling daily defragmentation in Windows 10 would have a virtually insignificant impact on SSD lifespan.

Additionally, the rare instances of large files fragmenting could be worth occasional defragmentation to ensure smoother performance.

Brand	500/512GB	Longevity (In Use)	1TB	Longevity (In Use)	2TB	Longevity (In Use)	Overall Longevity (Unpowered)
Samsung SSD	~300 TBW	5–8 yrs	~600 TBW	6–10 yrs	~1,200 TBW	7–12 yrs	See footnote [1]
WD SSD	~300 TBW	5–8 yrs	~600 TBW	6–10 yrs	~1,200 TBW	7–12 yrs	See footnote [1]
Crucial SSD	~180 TBW	4–7 yrs	~360 TBW	5–8 yrs	~720 TBW	6–10 yrs	See footnote [1]
Kingston SSD	~300 TBW	5–8 yrs	~600 TBW	6–10 yrs	~1,200 TBW	7–12 yrs	See footnote [1]
ADATA SSD	~320 TBW	5–8 yrs	~640 TBW	6–11 yrs	~1,280 TBW	7–13 yrs	See footnote [1]
WD HDD	~180 TB/year	5–10 yrs	~300 TB/yr	5–10 yrs	~550 TB/yr	5–10 yrs	50–100+ yrs (ideal storage)
Seagate HDD	~180 TB/year	5–10 yrs	~300 TB/yr	5–10 yrs	~550 TB/yr	5–10 yrs	50–100+ yrs (ideal storage)

Footnotes:

1. SSD Longevity: SSDs have a limited number of write cycles, reflected by TBW ratings. Longevity varies by capacity, as larger drives distribute writes over more cells. In consumer-grade SSDs, unpowered data retention is generally 1–10 years, with longer retention risks due to charge dissipation in NAND cells. (That is, potential total loss of data without possible recovery.)
2. HDD Longevity: While HDDs’ mechanical parts may wear out after years of regular use, their magnetic storage provides exceptional data retention longevity when stored in optimal conditions (e.g., controlled temperature, humidity). Records show data can remain intact for 50–100+ years when HDDs are properly stored and unpowered. Even if the mechanical parts such as drive motor or heads wear out, those parts can be replaced by professional data recovery services and data recovered if the platter itself is intact.

Which of course you don’t want to do!

1. On the floor
   • DON’T: Place your router on the ground; it limits signal strength.
   • DO: Elevate it on a table or shelf; leave some space from walls.
2. Behind furniture
   • DON’T: Hide it behind couches or other large objects; they block signals.
   • DO: Position it in an open, visible area for better coverage.
3. In the basement
   • DON’T: Put your router in the basement; interference weakens the connection.
   • DO: Place it in above-ground rooms where Wi-Fi is used most.
4. Inside cabinets
   • DON’T: Stash your router in a cabinet; it can block airflow and overheat.
   • DO: Use open, non-metallic containers like wicker baskets to hide it.
5. Near other routers
   • DON’T: Place it near another Wi-Fi router unless it’s part of a mesh system.
   • DO: Stick to a single system like a mesh network to prevent interference.

Ideal spot

• DON’T: Pick places with lots of obstructions or interference.
• DO: Choose a central, elevated location with minimal barriers. Keep it visible yet discreet.

Here are some ways to hide routers in plain sight

https://designwanted.com/wi-fi-router-designs/

https://www.yankodesign.com/2025/03/06/customizable-wifi-router-skins-turn-an-eyesore-into-an-aesthetic-decoration/

For optimal performance, here are some alternative materials and ideas:

1. Wooden Box with Ventilation: A wooden box with ventilation holes can be both stylish and functional.
2. Fabric Cover: Use a decorative fabric cover or pouch that allows for airflow and doesn’t obstruct the signal.
3. Plastic or Acrylic Case: Transparent or opaque plastic or acrylic cases can conceal your router without affecting its performance.
4. Open-Weave Baskets: Baskets made from materials like rattan, wicker, or bamboo can hide the router while allowing the signal to pass through.

Ensuring proper ventilation is key to maintaining your router’s performance and longevity.

Recent changes to the computer industry have brought out subtle changes to all sorts of electronics. Here are a few tables that might make you a better shopper:

USB Specifications

USB Version	Maximum Speed	Color of Ports	Number of Wires
USB 1.1	12 Mbps	White	4
USB 2.0	480 Mbps	Black	4
USB 3.0	5 Gbps	Blue	9
USB 3.1	10 Gbps	Teal	9
USB 3.2	20 Gbps	Teal/Blue	9
USB4	40 Gbps	Teal/Black	24

So be aware, if you buy a 3.0 flash drive (625 Mbps) and plug it into an old USB 1.1 slot, you will only get a maximum of 12 Mbps copy speed when you try to move a file into it. The color of the port is a help, but not a guarantee of the port speed. Some manufacturers ignore the scheme.

USB 2.0 and 3.0 connectors look like they only have 4 and 5 pins respectively, but inside the 3.0 connector the pins are cleverly connected to multiple wires to give additional throughput.

• 4 pins for USB 2.0 compatibility (4 wires: ground, power, and two data lines)
• 5 pins for USB 3.0 (5 more wires: two pairs for differential data transmission and an additional ground; some pins have multiple purposes, multiple wires connected)
• USB 4 connector has 24 pins, and a USB 4 cable typically contains 20 wires, capable of NVME speeds using an external drive. The speed bottleneck will be the drive itself, not the cable.

Different Types of Drives and Their Speeds

Drive Type	Maximum Speed
HDD (Hard Disk Drive)*	~160 MB/s
SATA SSD (Solid State Drive)**	550 MB/s
NVMe SSD (Non-Volatile Memory Express)	3,500 MB/s
USB 2.0 Flash Drive	60 MB/s
USB 3.0 Flash Drive	625 MB/s
Thunderbolt 3 SSD	5,000 MB/s

Comparison of Advertised vs. Real-World Speeds

Interface	Advertised Speed	Real-World Speed
SATA I (1.5Gbps)	1.5Gbps (150MB/s)	120–130MB/s
SATA II (3Gbps)	3Gbps (300MB/s)	250–270MB/s
SATA III (6Gbps)	6Gbps (600MB/s)	550–600MB/s
USB 2.0	480Mbps (60MB/s)	35–40MB/s
USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen 1	5Gbps (625MB/s)	400–450MB/s
USB 3.2 Gen 2	10Gbps (1.25GB/s)	800–900MB/s
USB 3.2 Gen 2×2	20Gbps (2.5GB/s)	1.8–2.2GB/s
USB4 / Thunderbolt 3 & 4	40Gbps (5GB/s)	3–4GB/s
NVMe PCIe Gen 3×4	32Gbps (4GB/s)	3–3.5GB/s
NVMe PCIe Gen 4×4	64Gbps (8GB/s)	7–7.5GB/s

Key Takeaways

• SATA speeds have doubled with each major revision, but real-world speeds are always lower due to protocol overhead. Manufacturers fail to factor in the additional overhead required to move data.
• SATA III (6Gbps) is still widely used, but NVMe PCIe drives have far surpassed SATA speeds.
• USB speeds have improved dramatically, but USB 2.0 is still much slower than even SATA I.
• USB 3.2 and is however now about 4x faster than Sata III.
• Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 offer speeds comparable to NVMe, making them ideal for high-speed external storage.

Central Processor Units

CPU Type	Typical Speed Range	What It Means
Single-Core CPU	1-2 GHz	Basic tasks (e.g., browsing, emailing)
Dual-Core CPU	2-4 GHz	Multitasking (e.g., running several apps)
Quad-Core CPU	2.5-4.5 GHz	Moderate gaming, video editing
Hexa-Core CPU	3-5 GHz	Heavy multitasking, advanced gaming
Octa-Core CPU	3.5-5.5 GHz	Professional video editing, 3D rendering
Deca-Core CPU	4-6 GHz	High-end professional tasks, complex simulations

Example with a 1GB File

• Single-Core: Think of it as having one person do the entire task alone.
• Dual-Core: Two people working together, splitting the task.
• Quad-Core: Four people, meaning quicker completion.
• Deca-Core: Ten people, so the task is done much faster.

And About that Internet….

Wi-Fi Protocol	Maximum Speed	Frequency Band(s)
802.11a	54 Mbps	5 GHz
802.11b	11 Mbps	2.4 GHz
802.11g	54 Mbps	2.4 GHz
802.11n (Wi-Fi 4)	600 Mbps (theoretical, unlikely)	2.4 GHz / 5 GHz
802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)	1.3 Gbps	5 GHz
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)	10 Gbps	2.4 GHz / 5 GHz
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E)	10 Gbps	6 GHz, 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz

Or if you prefer to be directly wired in:

Cable Type	Maximum Speed	Distance Limit
Cat 5	100 Mbps	100 meters
Cat 5e	1 Gbps	100 meters
Cat 6	1 Gbps	100 meters
Cat 6a	10 Gbps	100 meters
Cat 7	10 Gbps	100 meters
Cat 8	25-40 Gbps	30 meters
Fiber Optic (single-mode)	Up to 100 Gbps	40 kilometers or more
Fiber Optic (multi-mode)	Up to 100 Gbps	550 meters

A quick note here – notice that even at the lowest Cat 5, you are typically exceeding the Internet bandwidth offered by many Internet Service Providers, which is often 25Mbps or so.

Finally, here is a table to give you a realistic idea of what bandwidth you actually need:

Minimal Throughput Requirements for Home Devices

Device	Minimal Throughput Requirement
HD TV (Streaming)	5-10 Mbps
Roku (HD Streaming)	3-5 Mbps
Wi-Fi Telephone Call	1-2 Mbps
Security Camera	2-3 Mbps (upload)
Internet-Viewable Security Camera	5-10 Mbps (upload)
YouTube on Phone/Tablet	1.5-4 Mbps (480p-1080p)

Now remember, if you have 3 TVs and 6 family members streaming games or videos, multiply appropriately!

To sum it all up, if you are buying a computer, look for as many processors as you can afford, with USB 3 connectors, and an SSD or NVME drive if affordable. Very few people use more than 10% of a 1TB drive, so consider 256 to 512 GB drive size if it lowers cost. If you do have high speed Internet (greater than 100 Mbps) be sure that your the WiFi connection offers 802.11ac (WiFi 5) or 802.11ax (Wifi 6) protocol speeds, or be content with wiring your laptop to the router directly or you’ll likely get at most 30 Mbps. Likewise, the routers also must be capable of the WiFi 5 or better, else it is still best to wire them in directly (the wired ports generally connect at the maximum available speed (100 Mbps to 1000 Mbps) while wireless radios often broadcast in a range from 10 to 300 Mbps).

Memory Types and Their Speeds

Memory Type	Data Transfer Rate (MT/s)	Typical Bandwidth (GB/s)	Description
DDR3	800-2133 MT/s	6.4-17 GB/s	Older standard, still in use in many systems
DDR4	1600-3200 MT/s	12.8-25.6 GB/s	Common in modern PCs and laptops
DDR5	3200-6400+ MT/s	25.6-51.2+ GB/s	Latest standard, higher performance and efficiency
LPDDR4	1600-4266 MT/s	12.8-34.1 GB/s	Low power version, used in mobile devices
LPDDR5	3200-6400+ MT/s	25.6-51.2+ GB/s	Low power, high performance, used in newer mobile devices
GDDR5	6000-8000 MT/s	192-256 GB/s	Used in graphics cards
GDDR6	12000-16000 MT/s	384-512 GB/s	Newer graphics card memory with higher bandwidth
HBM2 (High Bandwidth Memory)	2000 MT/s per pin	256-512 GB/s	Used in high-end GPUs and accelerators