Software | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 25 Jan 2024 10:15:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Software | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Nvidia driver update adds RTX Video HDR https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/mustafa-mahmoud/nvidia-driver-update-adds-rtx-video-hdr/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/mustafa-mahmoud/nvidia-driver-update-adds-rtx-video-hdr/#respond Thu, 25 Jan 2024 10:00:40 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=645332 Last year, Nvidia updated its drivers to allow for those with an RTX card to intelligently upscale online videos to 4K, remastering them in real-time. The graphics card maker has now taken this one step further, introducing what they are calling RTX Video HDR...

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Last year, Nvidia updated its drivers to allow for those with an RTX card to intelligently upscale online videos to 4K, remastering them in real-time. The graphics card maker has now taken this one step further, introducing what they are calling RTX Video HDR.

Announced as part of the latest Driver update, Nvidia officially revealed RTX Video HDR – “a new video technology that uses AI and RTX Tensor Cores to dynamically remap Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) video content to High Dynamic Range (HDR10) quality video, improving visibility, details, and vibrance of streamed video.”

This latest RTX Video HDR can be used in tandem with Nvidia’s previously-released RTX Video Super Resolution to drastically improve the video quality of all online media – including livestreams.

RTX Video Super Resolution was already a surprising and welcome addition when it was announced and released last year, but this latest upgrade looks set to take things even further. Hopefully Nvidia continues to innovate in the video space just as much as they do with gaming.

KitGuru says: What do you think of RTX Video HDR? Have you used Super Resolution before? What other features would you like to see added in future Driver updates? Let us know down below.

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Stellar Data Recovery (Professional) Review https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-reviews/simon-crisp/stellar-data-recovery-professional-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-reviews/simon-crisp/stellar-data-recovery-professional-review/#respond Mon, 24 Aug 2020 07:55:43 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=481480 We check out data recovery software from Stellar - just what you've always needed?

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Ever had that sinking feeling when a file or folder gets lost or goes missing, and you suddenly remember that you told yourself you would do the backup later? Or have you ever deleted a partition and then realise that yes, that stuff on it was needed after all? If so, it's time arm yourself with some data recovery software. Stellar Data Recovery is quick to install and is a powerful data recovery tool that is available in a number of options and price plans.

Previously known as the rather long-winded Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Professional, Stellar Data Recovery Professional supports data recovery from SSDs, hard drives and USB drives formatted with NTFS, exFAT and FAT (FAT16/FAT32). It also supports data recovery from a crashed and/or unbootable system as well as recovering files from scratched or partially burned optical media such as CD or DVDs.

Besides the Professional version, there are five other Windows Stellar Data Recovery options: Free, Standard, Premium, Technician and Toolkit. Each jump in the food chain brings extra features and recovery tools. It also comes in three Mac versions; Free, Professional and Premium.

It supports file recovery from over 200 different file types including office documents, PDF, emails, images, database, audio, video, archive and databases:

Acrobat Files PDF
Archive Files ARJ, CAB, 7Z, LZA, RPM, TAR, BZ2, HQX, RAR, SIT, SITX, ZIP
Audio Files WAV, AIFF, RPS, MIDI, MID, M4A, AU, OGG, WMA, AAC, RFL, RNS, RA, RM, MP3, M3D, CDA, AU, OGG, WMA, AAC, RFL, SND
Database Files MDF, DBF, CSV, MDB, ACCDR, ACCDT, ACCDA, ACCDB
Documents files  MDB, ACCDB, PDF, PS,C WK, FM3, FMT, WK1, WK3, WK4, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, SDW, QXD, QXP, EPS, QBB, QBW, WPD, DOT, WBK, DOCM, DOTX, DOTM, DOCB, XLT, XLM, XLSM, XLTX, XLTM, XLSB, XLA, XLAM, XLL, XLW, POT, PPS, PPTM, POTX, POTM, PPAM, PPSX, PPSM, SLDX, SLDM, ADE, ADP, MDA, MDN, MDT, MDF, MDE, LDB, AND, ACCDR, ACCDT, ACCDA, MDW, ACCDE, LLACCDB, XPS, ODT, OTT, ODM, ODS, OTS, ODP, OTP, ODB
Email Files EMLX, PST, MSG, EDB, MBOX, NSF, GWI, EML, DBX, DCI, VCF
Image Files NEF, CRW, CR2, ORF, SR2, SRF, K25, KDC, DCR, RAF, MRW, PEF, X3F, JPEG, JPG, TIFF, TIF, BMP, GIF, PNG, XCF, PAT, ARW, DNG, PSP, PCT, RAW, MOS, PSD, EPS, INDD, ERF, FH3, FH5, FH7, FH8
Video files AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP, MXF, MKV, MTS, DIVX, OGM, MOI, VOB, MPEG, MPG, AVS, DVM, QT, ANM, SMJPEG, SCR, FLC, CLK, ANI, FLA, SWF, FLV, M4P
Miscellaneous files MHT, MHTML, ASPX, JSP, PHP, DBF, QDG, QSD, ABD, CBK, CAS, CHM, HLP, NBP, QDF, RTF, TAX, TXT

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Mozilla now offers a VPN subscription service https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/mozilla-now-offer-a-vpn-subscription-service/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/mozilla-now-offer-a-vpn-subscription-service/#respond Sun, 19 Jul 2020 11:41:22 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=477726 Those of you that use a VPN for connecting to the internet may be interested to learn that there’s a new VPN on the market from a trusted company. Mozilla, the company best known for its Firefox internet browser software has launched its own VPN service this week. The new Mozilla VPN is available on …

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Those of you that use a VPN for connecting to the internet may be interested to learn that there’s a new VPN on the market from a trusted company. Mozilla, the company best known for its Firefox internet browser software has launched its own VPN service this week.

The new Mozilla VPN is available on Windows and Android devices now and offers a fast and easy to use service. According to Mozilla, users will instantly see how fast internet browsing is when using its new VPN service. Mozilla VPN is based on WireGuard protocols which is much smaller than legacy protocols used by other VPN provides, making it more streamlined and fast.

Users who are new to using a VPN will notice that the interface is easy to use, setup is simple so you will be online in no time. Mozilla beta tested the software last year and it received positive feedback from participants of the test. Users found that the VPN offered a higher level of security for all devices with added protection for personal information and allowed users to browse anonymously and communicate more securely.

Mozilla claims that they do not partner with “third-party analytics platforms who want to build a profile of what you do online” and will not keep data logs of users online activity. The company also claims to have non-nonsense Data Privacy Principles that only focus on the information needed to provide the service.

Connecting to the Mozilla VPN requires no long term contract and is available for just $4.99 per month. The service will be available initially in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand with plans to expand to other counties later this year.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you looking for a new VPN service for Windows and Android devices? Would you give the Mozilla VPN a go?

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Thermaltake adds TOUGHRAM RGB support to its NeonMaker RGB software https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/james-dawson/thermaltake-adds-toughram-rgb-support-to-its-neonmaker-rgb-software/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/james-dawson/thermaltake-adds-toughram-rgb-support-to-its-neonmaker-rgb-software/#respond Sun, 17 May 2020 12:39:31 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=467271 NoenMaker software from Thermaltake allows users of certain Thermaltake components to create personalised PC builds with advanced RGB lighting customisation providing stunning visual displays. Currently, the NeonMaker Software supports a range of Thermaltake components such as Riing Quad, Riing Trio and Floe DX series products, with the company aiming to expand NeonMaker support to more …

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NoenMaker software from Thermaltake allows users of certain Thermaltake components to create personalised PC builds with advanced RGB lighting customisation providing stunning visual displays.

Currently, the NeonMaker Software supports a range of Thermaltake components such as Riing Quad, Riing Trio and Floe DX series products, with the company aiming to expand NeonMaker support to more of its additional product lines in the near future, to bolster the ecosystem and ensure complete integration.

One of those additions includes the Thermaltake TOUGHRAM RGB memory series. Thermaltake is pleased to announce that from this week, NeonMaker will support TOUGRAM RGB, so users with this memory will now be able to synchronise TOUGHRAM RGB illumination with other Thermaltake cooling products installed inside their systems.

With this new addition to NeonMaker, TOUGHRAM RGB users can personalise the memory’s RGB lighting effects using the software and then synchronise the TOUGHRAM RGB memory with other products using the TT RGB Plus software, as well as find out more information using AR technology using the TT ARTT app too.

NeonMaker features a range of various pre-set lighting effects and also allows the user to customise lighting options such as colours, adjust lighting effects via the timeline and lighting effect directions using the software editor. For more information about Thermaltake NeonMaker software head over to the official Thermaltake NeonMaker page here.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are any of you guys currently using NeonMaker to customise the RGB lighting on your Thermaltake components?  Or will the addition of TOUGHRAM RGB to the supported hardware make you want to try it out now?

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The new Microsoft Edge browser offers performance improvements https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/james-dawson/the-new-microsoft-edge-browser-offers-performance-improvements/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/james-dawson/the-new-microsoft-edge-browser-offers-performance-improvements/#respond Sun, 09 Feb 2020 11:42:15 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=450730 Microsoft launched its brand-new Edge web browser built on the Chromium open source project in mid-January with a goal to provide better compatibility and to create a partnership with the Chromium community to help improve the engine itself. However, performance improvements were not discussed at the time, according to PCMark, the new Microsoft Edge browser …

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Microsoft launched its brand-new Edge web browser built on the Chromium open source project in mid-January with a goal to provide better compatibility and to create a partnership with the Chromium community to help improve the engine itself. However, performance improvements were not discussed at the time, according to PCMark, the new Microsoft Edge browser is offering a decent performance boost.

Based on its own in-house testing with PCMark 10 application, UL Benchmarks claims that the new Microsoft Edge browser is offering a substantial improvement in performance on average compared to the old Edge browser. PCMark 10 measures real-world PC performance of Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the new Edge browser.

PCMark 10 can simulate Microsoft Edge common web browsing tasks such as social media, online shopping, viewing maps, watching videos or simply browsing web pages, During UL Benchmarks own testing of these activities, an increase of at least 10% performance from the new Microsoft web browser compared to the previous version was found.

Users can run these benchmarks themselves, to test before and after comparisons of the new and old Edge browsers, using the newly released PCMark 10 v2.1.2165. However, PCMark 10 Application benchmarks are only available in the Professional Edition which means signing up to an annual, single-seat subscription of the PCMark 10 Professional Edition for $1495 per year.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: PCMark is a handy tool for benchmarking all aspects of PC systems including software application performance. Have any of you guys tried out the new Microsoft Edge browser yet? If so, have you noticed an improvement in performance compared to the previous version and would you say that the new Microsoft Edge is now a valid alternative to web browsers such as Google Chrome or Firefox?

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Windows 10 reaches over 900 million devices milestone https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/windows-10-reaches-over-900-million-devices-milestone/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/windows-10-reaches-over-900-million-devices-milestone/#respond Wed, 25 Sep 2019 09:32:15 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=427251 Microsoft had an ambitious goal for Windows 10 at launch, with the company hoping for the OS to be on 1 billion devices within three years. That ship has since sailed but Windows 10 is still pulling in impressive numbers, with 900 million recorded installs worldwide. The new milestone comes via Microsoft's Corporate Vice President …

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Microsoft had an ambitious goal for Windows 10 at launch, with the company hoping for the OS to be on 1 billion devices within three years. That ship has since sailed but Windows 10 is still pulling in impressive numbers, with 900 million recorded installs worldwide.

The new milestone comes via Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Windows and Devices, Yusuf Mehdi. Over the last 12 months, Windows 10 has had more installs than ever before in a one year period. Although a lot of devices now count towards that number, as PCs, Xbox, Surface and HoloLens all run Windows 10.

 

Microsoft announced in March that Windows 10 had hit the 800 million mark and by May, that number had increased to over 825 million. This is up from  600 million in late 2017. If these growth levels continue, Windows 10 will be found on over one billion devices before mid-2020.

With the end of 2019 fast approaching, it remains to be seen if Microsoft will reach its targeted one billion devices by the end of this year. However, with Windows 7 getting closer to its January 14th, 2020 end-of-life date, we should see more systems being upgraded to Windows 10.

KitGuru says: Are any of you still running an older version of Windows? Are you planning on moving over to Windows 10 any time soon? 

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Version 6.10 of AIDA64 released offering new features and support https://www.kitguru.net/professional/software/james-dawson/version-6-10-of-aida64-released-offering-new-features-and-support/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/software/james-dawson/version-6-10-of-aida64-released-offering-new-features-and-support/#respond Tue, 24 Sep 2019 11:38:25 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=427126 FinalWire, the company behind AIDA64, has released version 6.10 of the PC diagnostic and stress testing tool. The new version is available to download immediately and includes support for new processors, PCIe 4.0, NVMe 1.4 and more. Multiple versions of AIDA64 6.10 are available to download from the official website. AIDA64 Extreme is aimed at home …

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FinalWire, the company behind AIDA64, has released version 6.10 of the PC diagnostic and stress testing tool. The new version is available to download immediately and includes support for new processors, PCIe 4.0, NVMe 1.4 and more.

Multiple versions of AIDA64 6.10 are available to download from the official website. AIDA64 Extreme is aimed at home users wanting to benchmark or stress test their rigs, meanwhile the ‘Engineer Edition' is aimed at professional IT workers and system engineers. Finally, AIDA64 Business Edition and AIDA64 Network Audit are aimed at corporations wanting to collect system diagnostic information and manage networks.

The new 6.10 release implements AVX optimised benchmarks for Zhaoxin processors and adds PCIe 4.0 and NVMe 1.4 device support. Details on the latest CPU and GPU platforms from AMD, Intel and Nvidia have also been added in this new patch, in addition to support for monitoring sensor values on matrix orbital EVE3 displays.

 

Below is a list of all the new features and improvements:

New features & improvements

  • AVX accelerated 64-bit benchmarks for Zhaoxin ZX-C+ and Zhaoxin KaiXian KX-5000 processors
  • Full support for Hygon C86 “Mukti/Dhyana” CPU
  • Enhanced RGB LED monitoring module
  • Matrix Orbital EVE3 LCD display support
  • Improved support for Intel “Comet Lake” and “Ice Lake” CPUs
  • Support for PCI Express 4.0 controllers and devices
  • Preliminary support for Zhaoxin KaiXian KX-6000 CPU
  • Advanced support for LSI RAID controllers
  • NVMe 1.4 support
  • Improvements for AMD X570 chipset based motherboards
  • GPU details for AMD Radeon RX 5700 Series
  • GPU details for nVIDIA GeForce RTX 2000 Super Series

What’s new since AIDA64 v6.00

  • SHA3-512 cryptographic hash benchmark utilizing AVX, AVX2 and AVX-512
  • AVX2 and FMA accelerated 64-bit benchmarks for AMD Zen 2 “Matisse” processors
  • Microsoft Windows 10 May 2019 Update support
  • BeadaPanel LCD and SteelSeries Rival 710 OLED display support
  • Corsair H100i Platinum and H115i Platinum liquid cooler sensor support
  • Corsair H100i Platinum and H115i Platinum liquid cooler sensor support
  • Corsair Obsidian 1000D, EVGA iCX2, Farbwerk 360, NZXT GRID+ V3 sensor support
  • Preliminary support for Intel “Comet Lake” CPU
  • GPU details for AMD Radeon VII
  • GPU details for nVIDIA GeForce GTX 1600 and GeForce RTX 2060 Series
  • Preliminary support for AMD “Navi” GPUs
  • Retired SHA1 and VP8 benchmark

KitGuru says: AIDA64 is a very useful tool which we often use here at KitGuru when testing hardware. Do many of you use AIDA64 regularly? 

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Call of Cthulhu PC Gameplay – Melissa is PETRIFIED! https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/bomenzzz/call-of-cthulu-pc-gameplay-melissa-is-scared/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/bomenzzz/call-of-cthulu-pc-gameplay-melissa-is-scared/#respond Tue, 06 Nov 2018 12:26:28 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=393809 This week, BoMenzzz sits down to solve some Lovecraftian mysteries in Call of Cthulu. We kinda forced her to play this one and she wasn't too happy about it. She took one for the team.

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Halloween might be over but we're still in the mood for some horror. This week, BoMenzzz sat down to try out ‘Call of Cthulhu', based on the classic H.P Lovecraft story. This is a survival horror game first and foremost but it does contain some RPG elements too. 

At the start of the game, we are immediately thrown into the shoes of the main character and trapped in a cave system. The opening has us sneaking around, hearing strange voices, chants and seeing shadowy figures. After making it through this, we learn that the main character here is Edward Pierce, a private detective who is unfortunately at a low point in his career. That is until a mysterious man shows up and supplies Edward with a case, in hopes of solving the mystery surrounding deaths in his family.

This ominous meeting is displayed via a cutscene, which unfortunately contained audio issues on PC. Generally, as you play through the game, sounds play at normal listening levels but for some reason, cutscenes are significantly quieter. This means that the audio needs to be adjusted regularly in order to hear cutscenes properly and also leads to uncomfortably loud moments when jumping back in to gameplay.

Fortunately, it isn't all bad news. Moving around in the game and accessing various systems like the journal, skills, clues and inventory all feels smooth and controls very well.

In terms of skills, your character can invest points in strength, psychology, spot hidden, eloquence, investigation, occultism and medicine. You'll get skill points as you go through the game and can spend them accordingly depending on how you want to play. Some skills will unlock new dialogue options, while others will help you spot hidden clues.

Graphically, this isn't the best looking game of the year. However, the game is designed with a dark, slightly grainy aesthetic, which seems like a solid choice for a horror game.

After getting through the initial opening and story prologue, we are sent off to ‘Darkwater' to investigate. Upon arrival, you can start walking around and talking to the local residents, many of which look very similar to each other. Over all, there only seems to be a handful of NPC variations (I counted 4). So be prepared to see familiar faces with small adjustments to facial hair, nose size etc.

The lack of NPC variety is a bit off-putting as it feels a little lazy, particularly for a game that costs £40 on PC and £50 on consoles.

As you continue exploring Darkwater, you get the chance to interact with a lot of people and explore certain areas. The game is semi-open, with more areas of the map being opened up after hitting certain story points or speaking to the right people. Occasionally, the game helps guide you in the right direction by putting a glowing green question mark on the left side of the screen, which means you have entered a room that contains something useful for you to find.

Without spoiling where the story goes, I found myself shocked at certain parts. This isn't the scariest horror game in the world, although I was definitely frightened on a couple of occasions. The story is dark and it knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat.

KitGuru Says: The mystery in Call of Cthulhu keeps things interesting, although it does feel like corners were cut in some places. Are many of you interested in trying this out?

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Mozilla adds theme editor and side-by-side browsing to Firefox https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/mozilla-adds-theme-editor-and-side-by-side-browsing-to-firefox/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/mozilla-adds-theme-editor-and-side-by-side-browsing-to-firefox/#respond Wed, 06 Jun 2018 17:25:47 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=375838 Firefox was getting a lot of stick from users as a bloated and unstable browser, but after the Quantum update, it is right back on track. With two new additions to its Test Pilot programme, users can now easily make their own themes and open two tabs in the same window. The Test Pilot programme …

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Firefox was getting a lot of stick from users as a bloated and unstable browser, but after the Quantum update, it is right back on track. With two new additions to its Test Pilot programme, users can now easily make their own themes and open two tabs in the same window.

The Test Pilot programme is where Firefox puts all its experimental features for testing by the public, and if they are well received, eventually make their way into a future version of the browser.

The first extension is a theme editor called ‘Color’. Color allows you to change several different aspects of your interface including Tool Bar colour, Tab Highlight Colour, Theme Texture and much more.

The second extension is called Side View. Side View allows you to open two separate tabs from within the same window. This means you don’t have to open separate windows for each tab, especially useful for those with ultrawide monitors.

These extensions are available now from the Test Pilot page and easily install like any other extension for Firefox.

KitGuru Says: As a user of Vivaldi, a browser that has had both an easy to use custom theme editor and tab tiler (with as many tabs as you can handle), this is a welcome addition from Firefox. What do you make of these new features?

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Intel stamps out nine year-old security bug https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/paul-taylor/intel-stamps-out-nine-year-old-security-bug/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/paul-taylor/intel-stamps-out-nine-year-old-security-bug/#comments Tue, 02 May 2017 23:02:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=332533 In a classic case of “better late than never” Intel has informed customers it has finally eradicated its INTEL-SA-00075 bug and provided a set of tools to diagnose, mitigate and/or resolve the issue. From Nehalem to Kaby Lake, every Intel CPU built since the introduction of the Core microarchitecture has been plagued with a security …

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In a classic case of “better late than never” Intel has informed customers it has finally eradicated its INTEL-SA-00075 bug and provided a set of tools to diagnose, mitigate and/or resolve the issue.

From Nehalem to Kaby Lake, every Intel CPU built since the introduction of the Core microarchitecture has been plagued with a security bug which allowed unprivileged network attackers to remotely gain system privileges to computers operating under Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) and Intel Standard Manageability (ISM), usually used in corporate environments to remotely manage your IT assets. The bug relates to a flaw in the Management Engine and while one may think they are impervious because they have the latest patches on their PC, one should check again. Also, you needn't operate a PC provisioned with AMT or ISM in a business environment to be vulnerable, it seems, you are still vulnerable within a local network.

While most machines will be updated via the OEM's firmware patches, the bug goes back long enough for you to do your own patching as the computer may have reached its end of support. If that is the case, head on down to Intel's download center and follow the instructions. If you haven't found a specific patch for your PC, you can run Intel's vulnerability detection tool or simply nerf the necessary processes running in the background by following the instructions in Intel's Mitigation Guide.

The bug discovery was attributed to Maksim Malyutin from Embedi, although we are aware that Charlie Demerjian over at Semiaccurate has been raging about it for years now, and with good reason.

KitGuru Says: While there have been no notable public incidents attributed to this bug, it seems a would-be attacker would have full access to machines operating under the bug. That is downright scary, considering it affects every Intel Core-based machine built in the last 9 years.

 

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Maker gets Cortana with Windows 10 IoT Core Creators Update https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/operating-systems/paul-taylor/maker-gets-cortana-with-windows-10-iot-core-creators-update/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/operating-systems/paul-taylor/maker-gets-cortana-with-windows-10-iot-core-creators-update/#respond Wed, 12 Apr 2017 19:41:42 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=330143 Maker aficionados of the Windows 10 IoT Core persuasion will be happy to know that Cortana has landed. The Windows 10 Creators Update milestone has delivered on a number of new features, including the Cortana voice assistant, which can now be used by makers in their Windows 10 IoT implementations. Other added features include new …

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Maker aficionados of the Windows 10 IoT Core persuasion will be happy to know that Cortana has landed.

The Windows 10 Creators Update milestone has delivered on a number of new features, including the Cortana voice assistant, which can now be used by makers in their Windows 10 IoT implementations.

Other added features include new APIs and development tools, as well as remote device discovery, cloud device management, support for additional hardware in the form of drivers and interoperability, power management among other things.

Right now it seems Microsoft Cortana may not have an identical set of voice commands as you'd have on a full desktop experience, and it will only support American English keyword spotting (KWS), but it does have the ones that matter and that make it a useful assistant: setting reminders, checking news, building to-do lists, checking traffic, calculator, weather look-up, etc… You can also develop your own voice commands to add local commands to Cortana.

Delivering a voice assistant is a good way of opening up the practical uses of devices (although using voice commands to command robots in a noisy factory might be an issue). Cortana seems like the right thing for Makers and their home projects. It will certainly go a long way to make that Magic Mirror project a bit more interactive. All you'll need to do is follow the guidelines in the Microsoft Speech Platform spec.

In terms of hardware support, you can now run Cortana on Raspberry Pi 3 and 2, DragonBoard 410C, MinnowBoard MAX and a number of reference development kits from Intel and Qualcomm.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see that Windows IoT Core is not stagnating as much as the rest of the IoT hardware business.

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