COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[plaques]

This one is for Tripps or any other chess nerd. A chess game (free) on line Chess Three different levels of difficulty. After a number of false starts I managed a couple of draws (repetition) and one win with black on the top setting. Really pleased with myself if I must say so.

[Tripps]

Thanks for that. It kept me up a lot later than I intended.
I had one game and should have won (heard that before) but move too quickly near the end a got a stalemate draw. I missed the 'take back' feature though, on the windows version.

My laptop has developed a minor screen problem. A thin line appears intermittently,at the top of the screen, and sometimes the whole image jumps a couple of mm. I bypassed the screen with an external monitor, and the fault goes away. Just old age I guess - I've had it for about eight years.

[PanBiker]

Sounds like glitch with the LCD screen, one of mine once developed an intermittent line across the display.

[Tizer]

Perhaps it's caught a virus.

[Tripps]

No - it's been socially isolated for ages - definitely a 'glitch'.

[plaques]

I had one game and should have won (heard that before) but move too quickly near the end a got a stalemate draw. I missed the 'take back' feature though, on the windows version.

Tripps I'm using windows 10 but I've never seen a back action. Does your game look like this (my last game a draw) or are you talking about some other game version?

.

Chess1.jpg

[Tripps]

I'm on windows 7.

start
go up to Chess Titans

During a game

game
Undo

Very handy....

[Stanley]

Is windows 7 the one with mullions and leaded lights?

[Whyperion]

I hear reports that Download limitations have been lifted by ISPs at request of government ( for the education of the little dears and distance meetings ). Not sure if that related to mobile phones and/or land line ADSLs.

[Tizer]

This will upset Boris!
`Zoom 'unsuitable' for government secrets, researchers say' LINK
`The hugely popular video meetings app Zoom has "significant weaknesses" which might make it unsuitable for secrets. A team at The Citizen Lab found that Zoom was using a non-standard type of encryption, and transmitting information through China. Government use - such as Boris Johnson's use of the app for Cabinet meetings - may not be wise, the researchers warned. But the app is fine for keeping in touch for most people, they said...'.

[Stanley]

Interesting that the government regard COBRA meetings as more important that Cabinet Meetings.

[Stanley]

Canonical have been very busy with upgrades.....

[plaques]

The recent explosion of funny emails especially through WhatsApp has got me all confused. A lot of them are MP4 video files which don't have an equivalent YouTube content. One in particular ...Whatsapp video 2020-03-27 at 11.33.44.mp4, I found really amusing but can't do anything with it other than forward it on in its MP4 form. Below is a snap picture from it. Can anyone tell me some of the background info: on these files?

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Russian Dance.jpg

[Stanley]

Beats me P. Is it important?

[plaques]

Beats me P. Is it important? Not one bit. Its just that there is an all world of social media running MP4 video and I don't know who is making these videos and who is controlling the market. Is it 1984 stuff or a bit of fun?

[Stanley]

, Good! Thanks P, I thought I might be missing something.......

[Tizer]

`Google Search results topped by suspected scam gadget store' LINK
`A suspected scam store, featuring hard-to-find gadgets priced below the norm, topped Google search results for days. MyTechDomestic accepted payments via direct bank transfers only - despite indicating support for credit cards and PayPal - and falsely claimed to be owned by a UK-registered company. It was flagged to Google last week but the US company took action only after being contacted by BBC News on Monday. The site's operator did not respond to several requests for comment. However, the platform went offline shortly after BBC News asked for a response to customers' claims it amounted to a "scam". Action Fraud - the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime - is looking into the matter after receiving a complaint from a member of the public. "Given the large numbers of people who view these adverts, Google should move much more quickly in response to reports of scams, and be proactive about vetting them to help prevent people losing money to fraudsters," Which? Computing editor Kate Bevan said...'.

[Stanley]

Timely warning Tiz! I always skip the promo results at the head of a search and only use sites I know. Far too many dodgy adverts are getting through!

[Tizer]

More of the same type of scam, all getting to the top of Google search lists, detected by BBC but apparently not by Google. The police ar not amused...
`Google spotlights more suspected Oculus VR gadget-scam ads' LINK

[Stanley]

another timely warnin g Tiz. The key message in that example is "using bogus checkout facilities that encourage customers to pay via a direct bank transfer." Never, ever pay by transfer, always credit card! Transfers run the risk of exposing your account details which is what the buggers are after!

[Tizer]

`Europe's supercomputers hijacked by attackers for crypto mining' LINK

[Stanley]

And see THIS report of a massive hack of Easyjet's data. Isn't it funny how it is always 'a sophisticated attack'...

[Whyperion]

with the BBC reporting that Serco sent user / sign up email addresses out to a batch of trainee contact testers and tracers it was reported as
"Serco wrote the email to tell new trainees not to contact its help desk looking for training details.

But the staff member who sent it put their email addresses in the CC section of the email, rather than the blind CC section - revealing them to every recipient."


This seems rather odd, as email databases either bespoke or the likes of Mail Chimp do not have CC or BCC options as such, the building of mail lists in itself uses different IP Ports into the email program, either in the client or the server, unless SERCO do things on the cheap and neither invest in proper user interfaces or training or dont have fit for purpose programs

[Pluggy]

Isn't it funny how it is always 'a sophisticated attack'...

[Pluggy]

On a different tack, I recently decided to upgrade and to make it more affordable to change my broadband provider. I'm regretting it. My change over date has arrived (the 19th May) and I've no broadband, this is coming through using my phone as a wifi hotspot. The old provider switched me off promptly and the new one didn't enable the new one until late in the day. They din;t inform me of the delay so around dinnertime I was trying to get it to connect. Thinking it was my end, I was getting increasingly frustrated and after restarting the router several times and trying everything I knew I reset the router to factory defaults. Big mistake, 3 hours later I got a call from an engineer who was enabling the VDSL (fibre) connection. He reported it was complete and it should come on presently. Of course it didn't because resetting the damn thing caused it to lose the PPP credentials. The new ISP neglected to inform me of what they need to be, so I entered into a a rather one sided email conversation due to them having posted on their site they had closed telephone support and the Instant chat thingy because of staff shortages with our Covid19 friend. I got frustrated culminating in be swearing at them and suggesting that their customer support was a teenager working from their parents bedroom. Since then the very spartan return communication has stopped altogether. I don't know if they are consciously ignoring me due to my tirade or the teenager has succumbed to the virus.

Its a company who has supplied me with my mobile connection for the past 3 years and with whom I was very happy, but they are new in the fixed broadband arena. Its a no contract deal (which was one of its attractions along with the very good price and its a devil I thought I knew) so I'm free to leave but its another changeover with the requisite fortnights delay or do I hope this will be resolved and I'll get it up and running ? The router is reporting a satisfyingly fast DSL connection, but it won't play because of the missing PPP credentials. Using the mobile connection is a tad expensive and on the slow side and I;m missing Disney+, Amazon Prime and Youtube......

Should I email an apology, change provider again of go back cap in hand to my old provider ? Boring old ADSL is better than non functioning VDSL. How would you resolve this comedy of errors ?

Said new provider is TML (Telecommunications Management Ltd) masquerading as 1p Mobile and 1p Broadband- https://www.1pmobile.com/ &
https://www.1pbroadband.com/ I was very happy with 1p Mobile and they are presently providing this internet connection. 1p a megabyte is OK if you're not using much of it. The phone us getting on a bit (3G) and Barlick Mobile internet and old thick house walls don't like each other.