Month: November 2017

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Archiving for a Leaner Database

There is an idea that data is sacred and needs to be stored forever. However, if you keep your data forever, you will, sooner or later, have a very large database.

In order to keep operations running smoothly, it would be useful to allocated data that is used more frequently in certain tables and keep data that is used less frequently in archive tables.

Some examples

You have a large table that stores transactions and it’s size is 200Gb. It is that way, because your company has been around for 5 years, but in the last year, your company has been successful acquiring new users and your data has doubled.

Congratulations.

In your database, you now have a table that has 5 years worth of data, but your application usually only needs about the last 1-3 months. There may be a use case where someone might require data about a customer for a period starting a year ago and there may also be a reporting request to aggregate data for the last 3 years. Therefore, to play it safe, we need everything in one table.

However, this greatly effects performance. It would be more helpful to try and separate those 3 concerns into 3 different tables:

  1. A table for a 3 month period for frequently used data
  2. An archive table that keeps all old and infrequently used data
  3. A summary table for reporting

With these, we are complying with the principle of Single-Responsibility and greatly improve performance for each purpose.

Having a ‘main’ table with only the last 3 months worth of data, greatly allows you to scale.
For example, even if your data doubles every year for the next 3-5 years, you still only have to manage a subset of that data. So if those 3 months once took a table 20Gb to store, the year following would be 40Gb and the year after would be 80Gb: These sizes are still very manageable by todays standards.
In addition, hardware and software improves over time, so there can be a legitimate expectation that simply by upgrading and updating, you can keep humming along.

Taking the effort to identify ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ data and allocating it to the right tables, can mean that your scalability concerns will be addressed for the long term.

How to implement Archiving?

Table _archive

One way to implement archiving, is by having a table that ends with _archive.

To enable this, you will need to be able to redirect your queries (from your code mainly, or by a proxy that can do that) to the main or the archive table, based on a particular criteria.

For example, if the date is less than today’s date minus 30 days, then send it to the archive table, if not, then the main table.

Another example may be, if the status column equals ‘inactive’ send to the archive table.

You would largely need to dig through your code for that table and wrap it with an IF statement to send to the right.

You would also need a data process that migrates data from the main table over to the archive table when it gets old or becomes cold.

Partitioning by Date

While this is not a different physical data model, this does help split the table into a few tables and achieving the desired purpose without application code changes.

Is it very common to partition your table to specify which data may be old and allocate it in the right partition, based on date.

mysql> CREATE TABLE `largetable` (
->   `id` bigint unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
->   `dateCreated` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
->   `status` int default 1,
->   `sometext` text,
->   PRIMARY KEY (`id`,`dateCreated`)
-> ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.03 sec)

mysql> alter table largetable partition by RANGE(YEAR(dateCreated)) (
-> PARTITION p2016 VALUES LESS THAN (2017), 
-> PARTITION p2017 VALUES LESS THAN (2018), 
-> PARTITION p2018 VALUES LESS THAN (2019), 
-> PARTITION p2019 VALUES LESS THAN (2020), 
-> PARTITION p2020 VALUES LESS THAN (2021), 
-> PARTITION pmax VALUES LESS THAN MAXVALUE);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.05 sec)
Records: 0  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

The above example, allocates data by which year the row was created. Please note, after 2020, this sort of manual partitioning will require manually adding new years to this table. If you do it in advance, this can be done without disrupting operations.

Partitioning by Status

You can also have a partition (as mentioned above) to a status column to active/inactive and simply by using UPDATE to change the value MySQL will move over that row to the right partition. REPLACE or INSERT + DELETE will work as well.


mysql> CREATE TABLE `largetable` (
->   `id` bigint unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
->   `dateCreated` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
->   `status` int default 1, -- default active
->   `sometext` text,
->   PRIMARY KEY (`id`,`status`)
-> ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec)

mysql> alter table largetable partition by list(status) (
-> partition pactive values in (1), -- active 
-> partition pinactive values in (2) -- inactive
-> ); 
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.03 sec)
Records: 0  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> select * from largetable partition (pactive);
Empty set (0.00 sec)

mysql> select * from largetable partition (pinactive);
Empty set (0.00 sec)

mysql> insert into largetable(sometext) values ('hello');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> select * from largetable partition (pinactive);
Empty set (0.00 sec)

mysql> select * from largetable partition (pactive);
+----+---------------------+--------+----------+
| id | dateCreated         | status | sometext |
+----+---------------------+--------+----------+
|  1 | 2017-10-30 10:04:03 |      1 | hello    |
+----+---------------------+--------+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> update largetable set status = 2 where id =1 ;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
Rows matched: 1  Changed: 1  Warnings: 0

mysql> select * from largetable partition (pactive);
Empty set (0.00 sec)

mysql> select * from largetable partition (pinactive);
+----+---------------------+--------+----------+
| id | dateCreated         | status | sometext |
+----+---------------------+--------+----------+
|  1 | 2017-10-30 10:04:03 |      2 | hello    |
+----+---------------------+--------+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Partitioning by ID

And lastly, you can partition on the sequence of your auto incrementing id key.


mysql> CREATE TABLE `largetable` (
->   `id` bigint unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
->   `dateCreated` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
->   `status` int default 1,
->   `sometext` text,
->   PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
-> ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec)

mysql> alter table largetable partition by RANGE(id) (
-> PARTITION p1 VALUES LESS THAN (500000000), 
-> PARTITION p2 VALUES LESS THAN (1000000000), 
-> PARTITION p3 VALUES LESS THAN (1500000000), 
-> PARTITION p4 VALUES LESS THAN (2000000000), 
-> PARTITION p5 VALUES LESS THAN (2500000000), 
-> PARTITION pmax VALUES LESS THAN MAXVALUE);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.06 sec)
Records: 0  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

The above example specifies which partition the row should goto based on the range of what the id number is. This example is more useful if your system does a lot of primary key look ups. It also helps with distributing the table sizes more equally when compared to dates, as you can have more data in recent years.

A word of caution

Partitioning on the right key is absolutely crucial and not easy. You need to analyse the queries that the application sends to that specific table and come up with a partitioning key(s) that works well and does not slow down the table – at least not the top 80% of the slowest queries.

The partitioning key would need to go into the PRIMARY KEY and in order for the optimiser to send you to the right partition, that key would ideally be included in the WHERE clause of all SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE queries. Otherwise, your query would run sequentially through each partition in that table.

via Planet MySQL
Archiving for a Leaner Database

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Star Wars Symbolism: Lightsabers

Star Wars Symbolism: Lightsabers

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The inner being expressed as external power. ScreenPrism takes a look at one of the best fictional weapons ever conceived. They focus on the Skywalker’s lightsabers, but also touch on many of the ways that Star Wars uses the weapon as a symbol.

via The Awesomer
Star Wars Symbolism: Lightsabers

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There’s an implosion of early-stage VC funding, and no one’s talking about it

Victor Basta is the founder of the boutique investment firm Magister Advisors.

More posts by this contributor:

Amid record amounts of capital raised by VCs worldwide, and a sharp rise in the number of private “unicorns” valued at $1 billion-plus, there has been a quiet, barely noticed implosion in early-stage VC activity worldwide.

The chart below is dramatic, and accurate. Since 2014, the number of VC rounds in technology companies worldwide has nearly halved, from 19,000 to 10,000, according to PitchBook. During that time, the drop in VC funding amount has been nowhere near as dramatic, highlighting that VCs are concentrating investment into fewer later-stage companies.

This is now a three-year trend, so cannot be “blamed” on macro or short-term factors. More worryingly, it comes at a time of unprecedented stock market valuations worldwide.

Global VC financing volume and value in technology companies

 This amounts to a crash in number of financings, and is the most extreme since 2001.

The crash has occurred in early-stage funding

The data shows by far the sharpest fall in activity has been in early- and seed-stage rounds. In fact, later rounds have remained fairly flat the last three years, and A and B rounds have fallen, but not nearly by as much.

Global financing volume into technology companies by stage

 The early-stage implosion is global

 The fall in financings has happened literally everywhere:

What caused this quiet implosion?

  • The era of funding apps is over – VC funding rounds grew dramatically after 2010 partly because of rebounding economic activity, but mainly in order to back a raft of B2C apps taking advantage of consumers’ emerging mobile-first behavior. With Android and iOS ecosystems well established, nearly every commercial segment saw a raft of new digital challengers, in everything from lifestyle to health, finance and a raft of special interest categories. Since 2014, early-stage funding for businesses with “mobile” in their description has fallen off a cliff.
  • SaaS funding has dropped sharply – In 2014, nearly 5,000 rounds backed companies describing themselves as “SaaS.” This year, that figure is down nearly 40 percent, to about 3,000. With so many SaaS companies having been created in the past 10 years, it’s hard to justify, let alone back, new SaaS startups, which are by now competing against established SaaS players, not legacy perpetual license vendors.

Global financings (value and volume) in SaaS

  • Even fintech has seen a quiet fall in activity – While nowhere near as dramatic as the fall-off in SaaS and mobile funding, fintech funding activity has dropped nearly 10 percent since 2014. Again, we believe this marks a natural maturation of many fintech segments, where winners have already emerged well-capitalized and new entrants in many fintech categories are fighting a costly uphill battle to grow quickly.
  • In general, VCs are doubling down on “winner take all” leaders – Since 2014, aggregate funding into late-stage rounds has hovered around $55 billion a year, though it will be somewhat lower this year. Today’s $1 billion private financing round was unheard of a decade ago. Recent $1 billion raisers Airbnb, Spotify, WeWork and Lyft have joined previous billionaire raisers, including Uber, Facebook, SpaceX and Flipkart, and point to a strong trend to concentrate “winner take all” funding into companies that have real potential to lead or dominate their segment.

Overall we believe 2012-16 was a bubble in early-stage funding driven by the fundamental platform shift to mobile. In easy hindsight, too many companies raised “concept” money, and an unprecedented number failed early and “failed fast.” The VC market for seed and early-stage failed with them, falling to half its size in three short years.

Arguably, post implosion, early-stage VCs have become more “rational” and we are unlikely to see the “spray and pray” approach that dominated a few short years ago. However, in absolute numbers, it also means there is far less capital available to early-stage companies today than a few years ago, and inevitably there will be a continued drop in the number of new startups, which cannot now rely on getting the first round raised easily in the current environment.

Whether the early-stage VC implosion is healthy or disastrous for the tech ecosystem remains to be seen.

Likely it will be a bit of both.

Featured Image: Jorg Greuel/Getty Images

via TechCrunch
There’s an implosion of early-stage VC funding, and no one’s talking about it

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer Spoof

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer Spoof

Link

“Pebbles? Try lifting an X-Wing.” R2-D2 let Luke’s Jedi school burn down, porgs were totally not made to prey on children, and Rey can’t decide if she’s Light Side or Dark Side in ArtSpear Entertainment’s spoof of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer.

via The Awesomer
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer Spoof

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Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Cell Site Location Info Case


The Supreme Court’s review of the Carpenter case — dealing with the warrantless collection of cell site location info — kicked off yesterday. Oral arguments featured Nate Wessler of the ACLU facing off against the DOJ’s Michael Dreeben in a case that could drastically alter the Third Party Doctrine.


From the early going, it sounds a bit like the court is leaning towards a drastic alteration. There’s a lot that can be read from the arguments presented by the justices — especially those by Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch. After some of the expected arguments — the Third Party Doctrine, the post-facto privacy invasion that is 100+ days of location tracking, etc. — Gorsuch wades into pretty novel theory based on the property… um… properties of location data gathered by service providers.


Referencing the privacy protections statutorily mandated by 47 USC § 222 (and the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision on GPS tracking devices), Gorsuch goes after the DOJ’s lawyer, asking him why records considered by law to be the property of carrier customers aren’t afforded the same protection as the Fourth Amendment “papers and effects” they keep in their houses.


GORSUCH: [O]ne thing Jones taught us is — and reminded us, really, is that the property-based approach to privacy also has to be considered, not just the reasonable expectation approach. So, if we put aside the reasonable expectation approach for just a moment, Katz, Miller, Smith, and ask what is the property right here, let’s say there is a property right. Let’s say I have a property right in the conversion case I posited with your colleague. So that if someone were to steal my location information from T-Mobile I’d have a conversion claim, for example, against them for the economic value that was stolen. Wouldn’t that, therefore, be a search of my paper or effect under the property-based approach approved and reminded us in Jones?


This wasn’t much fun for the DOJ’s representative:


MR. DREEBEN: I suppose that if you are insisting that I acknowledge that it’s a property right, some consequences are going to follow —


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Right.


MR. DREEBEN: — from that.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Okay.


[…]


JUSTICE GORSUCH: In my — in my hypothetical, if there were a property interest, you’re not here to deny that that would be a search of my paper and effect?


MR. DREEBEN: I’m not here to concede it either.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Okay.


MR. DREEBEN: And the reason that -­-


(Laughter.)


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Okay.


MR. DREEBEN: The reason that I can’t concede it is it’s a property right that resembles no property right that’s existed.


Justice Alito pitched in to point out the likelihood there’s no property interest in location records because customers don’t ask for it to be collected, can’t prevent it from being collected, can’t keep the provider from destroying records and, in some cases, can’t even demand a copy of these records. But while that may have briefly lit a fire of hope in the DOJ’s rep, Gorsuch did his best to extinguish the flame.


MR. DREEBEN: So, Justice Alito, those are a lot of good reasons on why this should not be recognized as a property interest. I can’t think of anything that would be characterized as a property interest with those traits. And it would be a — really a watershed change in the law to treat transferred information as property.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Well, what does Section 222 do, other than declare this customer proprietary network information –­


MR. DREEBEN: So that -­-


JUSTICE GORSUCH: — that the carrier cannot disclose?


MR. DREEBEN: It — it does that in conjunction with a provision that it shall be disclosed as required by law.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: So — so, let me ask you that. So — so the government can acknowledge a property right but then strip it of any Fourth Amendment protection. Is that the government’s position?


MR. DREEBEN: No, no, but I think that the -­


JUSTICE GORSUCH: And so — so could we also say maybe that they also get this property right subject to having a non-Article III judge decide the case, or quartering of troops in your home?1 Could we strip your property interests of all constitutional protection?


MR. DREEBEN: Well, those are pretty far afield. I — I think what’s going on here -­-


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Are they?


1 Shout-out to the least hardest working legal advocates in the nation.


After some discussion about this statute protecting the privacy of info gathered by cell phone companies, along with the government repeatedly pointing to the Third Party Doctrine, the justices discuss the sensitivity of the information being obtained without a warrant, pushing the argument back from the property side Gorsuch proposed to the detailed data being gathered daily (bank records are mentioned) by a variety of third parties. Again, the DOJ argues that no warrants are needed because the “search” isn’t performed by the government, but rather by the third parties themselves and the results handed over to law enforcement.


Justice Kagan had some problems with this particular approach.


JUSTICE KAGAN: I understand what you’re saying, you’re basically saying, well, because the government is going to a third-party here and doing it by subpoena, it doesn’t matter how sensitive the information is. It doesn’t matter whether there’s really a lack of voluntariness on the individual’s part in terms of conveying that information to the third-party. And we could go on and we could give, you know, other factors that you might think in a sensible world would matter to this question. And you’re saying that all of that is trumped by the fact that the government is doing this by subpoena, rather than by setting up its own cell towers.


Which the government can certainly do. (See also: Stingray devices. This is why this case about historical cell site location info will have a ripple effect on Stingray usage no matter which way it’s decided.)


Justice Gorsuch takes this assertion and brings it full circle to the creation of the Constitution and its resulting amendments.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Mr. Dreeben, it seems like your whole argument boils down to if we get it from a third-party we’re okay, regardless of property interest, regardless of anything else. But how does that fit with the original understanding of the Constitution and writs of assistance? You know, John Adams said one of the reasons for the war was the use by the government of third parties to obtain information forced them to help as their snitches and snoops. Why — why isn’t this argument exactly what the framers were concerned about?


MR. DREEBEN: Well, I think that those — those were writs that allowed people acting under governmental power to enter any place they wanted to search for anything that they wanted.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Isn’t that exactly your argument here, that so long as a third party’s involved, we can get anything we want?


MR. DREEBEN: Well, I think the search is being carried out under a writ of assistance by a government agent, operating under government authority; whereas here, we — the — if there’s a search in the acquisition of cell site information, then it’s the cell site company that is acquiring that information without governmental instigation, without –­


JUSTICE GORSUCH: The subpoena –­


MR. DREEBEN: — governmental agency -­-


JUSTICE GORSUCH: — being, though, the equivalent of a writ of assistance?


MR. DREEBEN: Oh, I don’t think a subpoena is an equivalent of a writ of assistance. A writ of assistance allowed the agent to go into any house, to rip open anything looking for contraband, no limitations.


JUSTICE GORSUCH: Yeah. And you can subpoena anything that any company has anywhere in the globe regardless of any property rights, regardless of any privacy interests, simply because it’s a third-party?


The Chief Justice didn’t appear too impressed by this line of reasoning either.


MR. DREEBEN: So I — I think that, as Justice Alito was explaining, there is a traditional understanding that dates back to the time of the founding that subpoenas stand on a different footing from search warrants. And they do that because they are less intrusive, since they do not require the government going into private property and searching itself.


CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Why does that –­


MR. DREEBEN: And -­-


CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: — why does that make a difference? The subpoena tells the person who gets it: this is what you have to do.


MR. DREEBEN: Well, I think that most —


CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Why is that less intrusive? The whole question is whether the information is accessible to the government.


But that’s exactly the argument the DOJ is making. No matter how long the records go back, no matter how accurate cell tower location data is, no matter how many points of data each citizen carrying a cell phone creates each day, it should all be no more than a subpoena away because the data is being held by a third party. This is Nate Wessler’s summation of the government’s assertions:


I just want to highlight that the — the government, Mr. Dreeben, as I heard him, conceded that the precision of these records doesn’t matter at all to the government’s theory here. They could be precise, I take it, to within a single inch. And the fact that a third party has custody of them would, in the government’s view, vitiate any expectation of privacy, which we think would be a very destructive rule.


It’s too early to say how this will turn out, but the with the exception of Justice Alito, very little sympathy was shown for the government’s arguments. The justices also had problems with differentiating between short-term collection of CSLI and lengthier collections. It did raise this question in the Jones case — suggesting long-term monitoring was more invasive than short-term tracking, but did not come to a bright line conclusion. Carpenter’s reps are suggesting a 24-hour limit for warrantless CSLI access.


This will be a tough line to draw, especially as courts have pointed out before rights do not spring into existence out of nowhere. If 24 hours isn’t a Fourth Amendment violation, why should three months be a problem? Or half a year? What then would stop the government from serving successive subpoenas to gather multiple days of location info, thus rendering the bright line irrelevant? If a decision is going to be made — one that “fundamentally changes the application of the Fourth Amendment to subpoenas” (as Justice Alito put it) — it really has to be all or nothing.


But the early skepticism of the government’s arguments expressed here is a positive development. This shows the court isn’t interested in rubber stamping an extension of the Third Party Doctrine nearly 40 years after the Smith v. Maryland decision. Given the amount of information gathered by third parties, it’s time for some fundamental change.

via Techdirt
Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Cell Site Location Info Case

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The Complete Malware Removal Guide

Malware is everywhere these days. You only have to sneeze in the wrong café, and you have malware. Okay, maybe not that bad. But as the networked world expands, so does the potential for infection.

This MakeUseOf guide is a step-by-step approach to removing a significant amount of malware. Furthermore, we’re going to show you how to stop malware infecting your system, to begin with. And if you don’t have to worry about malware, you’ll have more time for the finer things in life.

We cannot deliver a guide detailing removal instructions for every piece of malware or ransomware out there. There are simply too many. However, we can aim to remove most malware infections for a Windows 10 machine. Furthermore, many of the fixes and methods detailed are compatible with older Windows versions.

Eradicating malware from your system is a lengthy process. Malware of almost any variety is destructive. Furthermore, malware developers aren’t interested in making removal an easy process — that would be counterproductive. So, for the vast majority of computer users, removing malware requires guidance.

If you think your computer is infected, you need this guide.

1. How Do I Know I’m Infected?

2. Prepare Your System

How to Quickly Scan Your Backup USB Drive

3. Safe Mode and System Restore

System Restore | Remove from Programs and Features

4. Malware Removal

Rkill | Preliminary Rootkit Scan | Malwarebytes 3.x | Malwarebytes AdwCleaner| HitmanPro | Antivirus

5. After the Removal Process

System Restore | Temporary Files | Change Your Passwords | Reset Your Browser | Check Your Proxy Settings | Restore Default File Associations | Check Your Hosts File | Unhide and Re-Enable

6. Ransomware

Decrypting Ransomware

7. How to Stop Another Malware Infection

Antivirus | Antimalware | Anti-Ransomware | Browser Security | More Useful Tools | Linux Live CD/USB

8. Home and Dry

1. How Do I Know I’m Infected?

Because there are many different varieties of malware, there are many different malware symptoms. The symptoms vary from the extremely obvious to the extremely subtle. Below is a list of common malware symptoms.

  • Your computer shows strange error messages or popups
  • Your computer takes longer to start and runs more slowly than usual
  • Freezes or random crashes affect your computer
  • The homepage of your web browser has changed
  • Strange or unexpected toolbars appear in your web browser
  • Your search results are being redirected
  • You start ending up at websites you didn’t intend to go to
  • You cannot access security related websites
  • New icons and programs appear on the desktop that you did not put there
  • The desktop background has changed without your knowledge
  • Your programs won’t start
  • Your security protection has been disabled for no apparent reason
  • You cannot connect to the internet, or it runs very slowly
  • Programs and files are suddenly missing
  • Your computer is performing actions on its own
  • Your files are locked and won’t open

If your system is displaying one or more these symptoms, malware could be the cause.

2. Prepare Your System

The first thing to do before commencing with malware removal is to backup your files to a secure offline location


The Ultimate Windows 10 Data Backup Guide




The Ultimate Windows 10 Data Backup Guide
Windows 10 makes data backups effortless. We have summarized every native backup, restore, recovery, and repair option we could find on Windows 10. Use our simple tips and never despair over lost data again!
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. The removal process is potentially damaging to your system and other important files. Some malware variants become extremely aggressive when they sense the removal process taking place, and aim to take down your important and private documents with it.

In this case, I strongly advise using an external storage device rather than a cloud solution


The Windows Backup and Restore Guide




The Windows Backup and Restore Guide
Disasters happen. Unless you’re willing to lose your data, you need a good Windows backup routine. We’ll show you how to prepare backups and restore them.
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, and for a good reason. Before restoring your private files to your soon-to-be-clean computer, we must thoroughly scan your backup for traces of infection. If the malware is present in your backup, you will copy the infection straight back to your computer — and be back to square one. (Furthermore, there are ransomware variants that encrypt cloud drives


Yes, Ransomware Can Encrypt Your Cloud Storage




Yes, Ransomware Can Encrypt Your Cloud Storage
Several ransomware variants not only attack your main hard drive, but other system drives — including cloud storage! The time has come to consider how you backup your files and where to keep them.
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 — more on ransomware later.)

2.1 How to Scan Your Backup USB Drive

An easy and quick way to save the trouble is to scan your USB drive before connecting. I’ve got two options for you.

USB Disk Security is a handy free tool that delivers a reasonably high level of protection against infected USB drives. Download and install the tool. When you’re ready, open USB Disk Security and select the USB Scan tab. As we are stopping malware, select the large USB Vaccine button. When you insert your backup USB drive, it will automatically scan for potential threats.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal usb guard

Ninja Pendisk is another free tool that will quickly scan and immobilize an infected USB drive


5 Ways Your USB Stick Can Be a Security Risk




5 Ways Your USB Stick Can Be a Security Risk
USB drives are useful for so many different things, but they can be problematic and dangerous if you don’t take the right precautions.
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. The tool will also create a special autorun.inf with special permissions to protect against reinfection (in case your system isn’t entirely clean).

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal ninja pendisk

3. Safe Mode and System Restore

Let’s begin the removal process. This can take some time. Furthermore, success might come from the first fix we try. Malware removal is, at times, a very frustrating process.

Many malware variants meddle with your internet connection. Some malware variants create a proxy to route all of your traffic while others simply hide your network connection. Others stop you accessing your desktop or prevent certain programs from running. In all cases, we boot to Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a limited boot mode


Windows 10 Won’t Boot? Try This!




Windows 10 Won’t Boot? Try This!
A computer that can’t boot is of no use at all — check out these methods to put your PC back in action.
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 accessed through Windows’ Advanced Boot Menu.

To access Safe Mode from within Windows 10, press Windows Key + I. Type advanced start in the Settings panel search bar and select the first option. Select Restart now under Advanced start-up. This will immediately Restart your system. You will arrive at the Startup Settings Menu when your computer restarts. Select Enable Safe Mode with Networking from the list.

Alternatively, restart your system and press F8 during the boot process (but before you see the Windows logo). Due to fast boot


This Little Tweak Will Make Windows 10 Boot Even Faster




This Little Tweak Will Make Windows 10 Boot Even Faster
Here’s a simple setting you can enable on your PC that will speed up Windows 10’s boot time.
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 (and the rapid boot speeds of SSDs


101 Guide To Solid State Drives




101 Guide To Solid State Drives
Solid State Drives (SSDs) have really taken the mid-range to high end computing world by storm. But what are they?
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) this procedure will not work on some newer systems.

3.1 System Restore

Before commencing, let’s check if you have a System Restore point created


What to Do When Windows System Restore Fails




What to Do When Windows System Restore Fails
System Restore can roll back Windows to a previous state. We show you how to recover from a System Restore failure and how to set it up for success.
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 before your issues started. System Restore allows us to roll the entire system back to a previous point in time. A Restore Point can quickly alleviate some forms of malware.

Type Restore in the Start menu search bar and select the best match. This will open the System Properties panel. Select System Restore. If you have a restore point, check its creation date. If you believe a restore point was created before the malware infection, select it from the list, and select Next. (Select Show more restore points to look further back.)

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal system restore point

Unsure about what installation introduced malware to your system? Highlight a restore point and select Scan for affected programs. This lists the programs and drivers installed since the creation of the restore point.

In this instance, it is best to use System Restore in Safe Mode


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3 Things to Check When Your System Restore Is Not Working
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. Some malware variants block System Restore.

3.2 Remove from Programs and Features

Type Control Panel into the Start menu search bar. Head to Programs > Programs and Features. Sort the list by Installed on. Look down the list. Is there anything you don’t recognize? Or with an obscure name? If so, right-click and select Uninstall.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal remove program list

4. Malware Removal

There are numerous malware variants. We’re going to use some of the best tools available to attack as much as possible:

  • Rkill
  • Kaspersky TDSSKiller
  • Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit BETA
  • Malwarebytes 3.x
  • Malwarebytes ADWCleaner
  • HitmanPro

Seems like a lot? Malware isn’t easy to obliterate.

First up, we use Rkill to kill any malware processes


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 that have made their way into Safe Mode. Theoretically, Safe Mode stops any malware processes running, but that isn’t always the case. Rkill bypasses and destroys malicious processes that attempt to block the removal process.

Download Rkill and run it. It is an automated process. When Rkill completes be sure to keep your system turned on, or the malicious processes will start again when you restart.

4.2 Preliminary Rootkit Scan

A rootkit is a type of malware that nestles in the very root of the computer. It takes its name from the Admin accounts found on Linux and Unix machines. Rootkits cloak themselves with other software and allow remote control over a system. Rootkits act as a backdoor for other types of malware


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.

For instance, someone could scan their system with an antivirus. The antivirus picks up “regular” malware and quarantines the infections accordingly. The user restarts their computer in the belief they have cleaned the infection. The rootkit, however, allows the malefactor to reinstall the previously deleted malware automatically — and the user is back where they started.

Rootkits (and the bootkit variant


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) are notoriously difficult to detect as they reside in the root directories, latching onto regular processes. 64-bit Windows 10 users are slightly safer than other versions of the operating system due to the signed driver system. Enterprising hackers, however, stole legitimate digital certificates to authenticate their rootkits. You’re not entirely out of the woods!

Luckily, there are two tools we scan your system with. That said, they’re not 100% accurate.

Kaspersky TDSSKiller is a well-known rapid rootkit scanner. It scans for and removes the malware family Rootkit.Win32.TDSS. The link above contains the download page as well as a full list of malicious programs TDSSKiller removes.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal kaspersky tdsskiller

Download TDSSKiller and run the file. Follow the on-screen instructions, let the scan complete, and remove anything malicious. Reboot your system into Safe Mode as per the earlier instructions.

Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit BETA (MBAR) is our second easy-to-use rootkit removal tool. Download and run the program, extracting to your Desktop. MBAR is in beta but has been for years. It is just a disclaimer that the program might not find an infection. Update the database, then Scan your system.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal malwarebytes antirootkit scanner

Delete any malicious entries when the scan completes. Restart your system in Safe Mode as per the earlier instructions.

Malwarebytes is a malware removal mainstay


The 10 Best Free Anti-Virus Programs




The 10 Best Free Anti-Virus Programs
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. Malwarebytes scans and quarantines malware, allowing us to clean the system thoroughly. Open Malwarebytes and update your malware definitions. Then hit Scan Now and wait for the process to complete.

Malwarebytes tends to throw up a number of false positives. For instance, certain Bitcoin mining apps will appear as malware. Anything with unsigned digital certification will trigger a warning — understandably, as most malware is, of course, unsigned.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal malwarebytes premium scan

Check down the infected items list when the scan completes. Cross-reference items marked malware with their file name. You can do this by completing an internet search using “[file name] Malwarebytes false positive.” Alternatively, complete an internet search for “[file name] malware.” Quarantine and remove any confirmed malware.

Jotti and Virus Total

I’m just going to throw a word in here regarding online file scanning services Jotti and Virus Total. Both services allow you to upload individual files for scanning against a number of popular antivirus programs. The results are cataloged by the services and made available to antivirus developers to increase the detection accuracy of their products.

They are by no means replacement for antivirus and antimalware products. They can, however, quickly ascertain the status of your false positive.

Malwarebytes AdwCleaner is next on the list. Another Malwarebytes product, AdwCleaner scans and removes adware and browser hijackers. AdwCleaner can throw up a lot of results depending on the level of infection on your system.

The latest version of AdwCleaner bundles issues by the program, listing services, registry issues, malicious shortcuts, browser redirects, and more. For instance, if you use Chrome, issues relating to the browser will all be listed within a drop-down menu. From there you can quarantine malicious extensions and more.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal malwarebytes adwcleaner

Another handy Malwarebytes AdwCleaner feature is the integrated Winsock reset. The Winsock defines how network services communicate with the wider internet, with a focus on TCP/IP (internet protocols). If your browser searches are being hijacked and redirected, resetting the Winsock can alleviate some of the problems.

HitmaPro is a powerful paid-for secondary malware removal tool. Don’t worry about paying for HitmanPro just yet. You can download and use the free trial to remove your current infection. Select No, I only want to perform a one-time scan, then select Next.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal hitmanpro quarantine

Even after other malware removal efforts, HitmanPro can throw up more results. That’s why we use it last — to pick up anything that has slipped the net. Like some of the other tools we have used, HitmanPro can throw out a false positive or two, so double-check before quarantining.

4.5 Antivirus

At this point, we scan the system with your antivirus. If you do not have antivirus installed, I presume you’re using Windows Defender. Windows Defender isn’t the worst product out there by a long shot — it isn’t the best free product, either — but it is certainly better than nothing. Check out our list of the best free antivirus programs around


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 — I suggest Avira or Avast.

Back to business. Complete a full system scan to see what is lurking. Hopefully, the answer is nothing. If so, you’re good to head to the next section.

If not, I’ve some slightly bad news for you. This is where our paths separate. This guide focuses on offering coverall tools for malware removal. But, friend, all is not lost. You have two options:

  • Complete the list again, in order. Some malware obfuscates other variants. Running through the list again may catch and remove further nasties.
  • Note the specific names of malware families detailed in the results of your antivirus scan. Complete an internet search for “[malware family name/type] removal instructions.” You’ll find much more detailed instructions specifically for the type of infection.

5. After the Removal Process

After you’ve removed the offending malware from your system, there are a few little clean-up jobs to take care of. They don’t take long but can be the difference between recommencing regular operations and succumbing to malware again.

5.1 System Restore

We attempted to use System Restore to roll back your system. If that didn’t work or you have restore points created after the introduction of malware to your system, you must delete them. We’ll use Disk Cleanup to remove all but the most recent restore point.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide windows 10 disk cleanup

Type disk clean in the Start menu search bar and select the best match. Select the drive you’d like to clean; in many cases, this will be C:. Select Clean up system files followed by the drive you’d like to clean (the same one as first selected). Select the new More Options tab. Under System Restore and Shadow Copies select Clean up… and proceed with the deletion.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide Windows 10 disk cleanup delete system restore points

5.2 Temporary Files

Next up, clean your temporary files. We will use CCleaner for this process. Using the link, download the free CCleaner version, and install. CCleaner now has smart cookie detection, leaving your most visited and important cookies in place.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal ccleaner analysis scan

Press Analyze and wait for the scan to complete. Then press Run Cleaner.

5.3 Change Your Passwords

Some malware variants steal private data. That data includes passwords, banking information, emails, and more. I would strongly advise changing all of your passwords immediately.

Using a password manager is an excellent way to keep track of the myriad online accounts. Better still, it allows you to use an extremely strong password in place of others. But if your computer is compromised, you should change your master password for your manager of choice.

5.4 Reset Your Browser

Some malware variants alter your internet browser settings. We can reset your browser settings to ensure anything malicious is removed.

  • Chrome: head to Settings > Show advanced settings > Reset settings.
  • Firefox: head to Settings. Select Blue Question Mark to open the Help Menu. Select Troubleshooting Information > Reset Firefox > Reset Firefox.
  • Opera: close Opera. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by pressing Windows Key + X, and selecting Command Prompt (Admin). Copy the following command into the window: del %AppData%\Opera\Opera\operaprefs.ini. Press Enter.
  • Safari: head to Settings > Reset Safari > Reset.
  • Edge pre-Fall Creators Update: head to Settings > Clear Browser Data. Select the drop-down menu and check all the boxes.
  • Edge post-Fall Creators Update: press Windows Key + I. Open Apps. Scroll down to Microsoft Edge and select Advanced > Reset.

5.5 Check Your Proxy Settings

Adding to the browser reset, it also worth double-checking that there aren’t any unexpected proxies lurking.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal lan settings proxy

Head to Control Panel > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings. Check Automatically detect settings and ensure Use a proxy server remains clear. If there is a proxy address (that you didn’t insert), I would suggest rescanning your computer.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal use regular settings proxy

5.6 Restore Default File Associations

Sometimes after a malware infection, you’ll find that you cannot run or open any programs at all. This issue usually relates to broken default file associations.

We’ll use a tiny program to fix the broken file associations. Use this link to download exeHelper. You’ll have to accept the forum terms and conditions, but don’t have to sign up to anything. Right-click the downloaded file and select Run as Administrator. Let the process complete.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal exehelper restore file association

You can manually replace file associations using a registry entry file. Use this link to download a comprehensive list of file types and protocols, via TenForums. Once downloaded, unzip the file and double-click any association you’d like to restore to default.

5.7 Check Your Hosts File

Every operating system has a hosts file. The hosts file defines which domain names are linked to which websites. The hosts file trumps your DNS server settings. In that sense, you can make a hosts file point anywhere. That is exactly why some malware variants add their own IP redirects — to bring you back to a phishing site or other malicious site again and again.

Find your hosts file:

  • Windows: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
  • Mac and Linux: /etc/hosts

You will need administrative access to edit the hosts file. Furthermore, you must edit the hosts file using a text editor.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal hosts file windows

So, what are you looking for? Anything that looks or sounds untoward. The Windows hosts file should not have anything uncommented in it — that means lines without a “#” in front of it. Resolutions for your localhost and hostname into 127.0.0.1 is completely normal, do not panic if you spot that.

Delete any offending entries (after cross-checking online), save your edits, and exit.

5.8 Unhide and Re-Enable

Some malware infections hide all of your files. Other disable access to core applications, like the Control Panel, Task Manager, or Command Prompt. There are two small applications we use to reverse these issues.

To make your files visible again, download and run Unhide.

To regain access to Control Panel and other vital tools, download and run Re-Enable.

6. Ransomware

Ransomware is a major issue for internet users around the globe. Like malware, there are numerous ransomware variants each with distinct malicious characteristics. There are, however, a couple of key characteristics that differentiate ransomware from malware.

  • A ransomware infection usually begins silently, encrypting your personal and private files using a pre-defined list of target file extensions.
  • Ransomware usually locks your system, forcing you to pay a ransom to retrieve the unlock key.
  • Finally, even if you remove the ransomware infection, your files do not magically decrypt. (Adding to that, previously encrypted files aren’t safe — they’re just encrypted, along with the rest.)

The rise of ransomware is a scourge that causes a significant amount of trouble. Perhaps the best example of ransomware is WannaCry


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. The highly virulent WannaCry ransomware swept around the globe encrypting millions of systems in over 100 countries. Security researcher Marcus Hutchins, aka MalwareTechBlog, stopped the spread of the ransomware by registering a domain name found in the ransomware source code.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide Petya Ransomware Lock Screen

Ransomware, then, requires a two-pronged approach. Unfortunately, reactive containment only works if you catch the ransomware in process. Removing the ransomware and decrypting files is unachievable for many variants.

6.1 Decrypting Ransomware

As just mentioned, there are a huge number of ransomware variants on there. They use different encryption algorithms to render your private files useless — unless you can decrypt them.

Security researchers have successfully cracked several ransomware algorithms. Other ransomware developers have slipped up and offered clues to the whereabouts of the decryptor, while law enforcement raids have uncovered troves of private encryption keys for major ransomware variants.

If you have a ransomware infection, you need to act swiftly.

Most ransomware variants announce their presence after encrypting your files, along with their name, via a ransom note. If that doesn’t happen, you need to upload an encrypted file to ID Ransomware (the site also accepts ransom notes or hyperlinks included in the ransom). The site will quickly identify the infection.

Find a Decryption Tool

Once you know what you’re facing, you can try to find a tool to fix the damage. Several sites, including ourselves


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, list decryption tools.

If you don’t find the decryption tool you need, try completing an internet search for “[ransomware variant] + decryption tool.” Don’t, however, head deep into the search results — there are phishing sites and other malicious sites that simply insert the name of what you’re searching for to ensnare unsuspecting users.

I’m not going to comment on how to use individual tools. There are simply way too many to offer detailed advice and instructions. The overwhelming majority come with at least some instructions as to their use.

7. How to Stop Another Malware Infection

Now your system is clear of infection it is time to assess how to stop it from happening again. There are so many antiviruses, antimalware, system cleaning, script blocking, process destroying tools out there it is difficult to know where to start.

Rest easy. We’ll show you how to build the best walls to keep malware out.

7.1 Antivirus

To start with you need an antivirus suite. If you already had one installed, consider changing it to something better. Honestly, those of you using Windows Defender are receiving a base level of protection. Windows Defender is a much better tool than in previous years, but it isn’t comparable to other third-party options.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide malware removal windows defender security centre

Try the excellently priced Bitdefender or Trend Micro suites. Alternatively, if you’re happy with a free solution, try Avast.

7.2 Antimalware

Next up we need an antimalware tool. The antimalware tool market has fewer trusted tools than the antivirus market, making our selections easier.

7.3 Anti-Ransomware

We are building a multi-layered approach to computer security. It is true that having multiple antivirus suites creates an almost neutralizing effect. But having multiple services focusing on different attack vectors is quite the opposite. Anti-ransomware tools focus on stopping ransomware getting into your system in the first place.

7.4 Browser Security

A majorly overlooked vulnerability is your internet browser. There are a vast number of malicious sites out there waiting for you. Adding to that, malvertising campaigns can infect you without you even realizing anything is awry. Taking the time to beef up your browser can stop a large number of malware and ransomware attacks before they get going.

The Complete Malware Removal Guide uBlock Privacy Settings

Security tools vary by browser, but there are similar tools for most. The below tools are a great starting point for browser security:

The combination of extensions you use depends on your browsing habits. If, however, you are uncomfortable with the extent of internet tracking, NoScript or uBlock Origin are a must (or our comprehensive guide on avoid internet surveillance!


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).

You don’t need all of the above tools. As I said, more than one antivirus suite is the wrong approach. Personally, I combine Bitdefender, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium, and Cybereason RansomFree.

There are, however, a host of really helpful tools for you to consider.

  • Emsisoft Emergency Kit: the Emsisoft Emergency Kit is a portable tool that scans for a wide-range of malware, viruses, and more. Handy as part of a USB drive recovery kit.
  • SUPERAntiSpyware: the free version of SUPERAntiSpyware detects and removes a huge range of malware, adware, and spyware.
  • Spybot Search & Destroy: Spybot is a long-standing anti-spyware tool that repairs and cleans a vast array of potentially malicious entities.
  • Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool: the anti-ransomware tool from Kaspersky blocks a wide range of ransomware

7.6 Linux Live CD/USB

Malware is only a problem if you are unprepared. Add a Linux Live CD or USB to your malware doomsday preparation


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The PC Repair Toolkit in Your Pocket: Boot CD on a USB Stick
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, and you’ll be in good stead. Linux Live operating systems operate over your existing installation. You boot the live operating system from a disc or USB drive, granting yourself access to a powerful array of remedial utilities as well as the infected operating system.

Here are five you should consider


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5 Best Rescue Disks For A Windows System Restore
Every Windows user should be aware of at least one bacon-saving, data-recovering system restore disk. It can help you access your computer to make repairs and backups, even when it won’t boot.
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 making a copy of right now. (Recovering infected computers isn’t the only thing Live CDs and USB drives are good for!


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The 50 Cool Uses for Live CDs
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)

Once you’ve downloaded one or more of the rescue discs, you will need to burn them to your preferred media


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How to Build Your Own Bootable Linux Live CD
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.

8. Home and Dry

Theoretically, your computer is now completely clear of malware. Furthermore, you’ve installed some antivirus, antimalware, and an anti-ransomware tool to keep you safe. You’ve also installed a few tools to stop unwanted scripts running in your internet browser. And to top it off, you’ve created a backup Linux Live CD or USB drive to save your bacon next time around.

Overall, your whole system is looking more secure. But don’t be complacent.

One of the biggest battles is user education — the me and the you behind the screen. Spending a small amount of time preparing your system and understanding where threats appear is a great step forward!

Good luck and stay safe.

via MakeUseOf.com
The Complete Malware Removal Guide

Posted on

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price

Our verdict of the Apple iPhone X:
It could be the most divisive iPhone yet, but we loved it. The biggest problem is the price, since you’ll need deep pockets to afford and make the most out of the iPhone X.910

Each year I review an iPhone, and each year my findings are usually the same: solid device, premium price point, but no huge change


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 in terms of how the iPhone functions. With the arrival of the iPhone X


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The Complete Guide to Using Your iPhone X
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, things just got much more interesting.

The iPhone X sits alongside the iPhone SE


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 as the second non-numbered, black sheep of Apple’s smartphone family. It brings with it entirely new ways of interacting with iOS


The Complete Guide to Using Your iPhone X




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, and it’s more expensive than any iPhone that came before it.

It’s also pronounced “iPhone ten” — just in case you were wondering.

Out With the Old

I’ve spent several years complaining about the lack of change in terms of overall design to the iPhone, while still managing to be impressed by Apple’s overall attention to detail. This time round I’m both impressed by the detail, but also the way the iPhone X reinvents basic interaction.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 3

In terms of size, the iPhone X is somewhere between an iPhone 8 and the Plus model. Compared to the Plus, it’s slightly smaller overall, which makes it easier to grip, more pleasant to use with one hand


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, and easier to fit into a pocket. Despite being smaller, the screen is actually larger than the 5.5″ panel in the Plus model, at 5.8″ diagonal on the iPhoneX.

That’s because the entire front of the iPhone X is occupied by the display. From the lower edge right up to a small cutout at the top of the device, the iPhone X does away with the Home button entirely in favor of software-driven gestures. While last generation’s iPhone lacked a mechanical home button, the new generation lacks the button itself.

There’s a notch cut out of the screen at the top of the device for a speaker, front-facing camera, and Face ID sensors. Despite causing some division among armchair pundits, I actually think it looks pretty good. There’s a Star Trek-esque quality to the rounded cutout, and despite being an unavoidable design decision for Apple, I like the rounded edges and the way it contrasts with the screen.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 19

The notch has an inescapable effect on how the user interface works, with elements like the time, battery and signal strength shoe horned into the cramped top corners. The information is still only a glance away, and all this extra screen space feels like something-for-nothing compared to older iPhones.

There are some big changes to button placement too. The physical Home button is entirely absent, replaced instead with gestures. The power button on the side of the device is now longer, and performs a few more actions, like invoking Siri


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. In many ways it’s the new home button, used for locking the screen, taking screenshots, and shutting down the device only with the right combination of button presses.

On the back, it’s largely business as usual aside from the now-vertical dual lens camera stack. There’s also a wireless charging plate somewhere in there, which is compatible with Qi chargers


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 just like the iPhone 8. And just like the 8, it’s all glass, and as prone to breaking as the front panel is. Fragility aside, the glass feels great in the hand, just like the iPhone 4 did.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 21

The iPhone X is a well-balanced device. It’s not top heavy and trying to get away from you, a problem I first had with the iPhone 6 Plus


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. In many ways the design feels like the natural continuation of what Apple has been doing since that period, with the same rounded edges, and overall design sensibility.

It’s still unmistakably iPhone, and it retains that premium feel thanks to the quality materials and ergonomic design.

A New Smartphone Experience

Learning to use the iPhone X will take considerably longer than your usual iPhone upgrade. There’s a lot of new things to get used to. You’re probably going to default to the same muscle-memory techniques you’ve developed over the past decade, but many of them are now defunct.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 7

Swipe to Home is probably the biggest change in terms of everyday use. I found myself reaching for an absent home button multiple times when I started using the X. You now swipe up from the bottom bezel to head back to the home screen. It’s a responsive gesture, and it works whether you’re using a fast flick or a cautious swipe.

Switching apps has also been complicated, since you can no longer double-tap the home button. You can now switch between apps with a swipe and a hold, or if you’re impatient a swipe and a flick to the right. This probably doesn’t sound particularly intuitive, but once you’ve had a play with the device you’ll know what to do and it’s then simply a matter of remembering it.

A new reliance on flicks and gestures means Apple has changed how apps are “killed” using the app switcher. You now have to tap and hold an app for the “kill” button to appear before you flick upwards. This is probably a good thing, since the only time you should be killing apps


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 is when they crash and become unresponsive.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 6

Something many Android phones have had for a long time is knock to wake, and now the iPhone X has it too. No home button means Apple had to implement some method of waking the phone up that didn’t rely on movement. Tap the screen and the X will wake, and because the whole front of the device is essentially a screen you can tap anywhere.

The screen itself offers a new way to iPhone. It looks inescapably futuristic, and you feel like you have more phone to play with since many apps have already updated to take advantage of the bigger screen. Elements like media controls, or titles at the top of the screen now occupy what was previously “dead space” so there’s just more content on screen at once. This leads to better app, reading, and browsing experiences.

In terms of imaging, the camera is largely unchanged from the iPhone 8 Plus. You get a dual lens design, with a 2x optical zoom on the telephoto lens. Like the 8, the X gets improved signal to noise ratio and software enhancements that make for cleaner images, better low light performance, and faster autofocus thanks to the A11 Bionic chip.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 8

The front-facing camera comes with the depth-effect Portrait mode, as well as Apple’s new funky faux lighting effects which simulate studio lighting, spotlights and so on. It feels more like a gimmick than anything particularly useful, but it’s fun to mess around with. Overall the camera is up to snuff, but still suffers from the many problems that plague small sensors like difficulty achieving real depth of field, and poor low light performance compared to larger sensors.

Face the Changes

The really big change is the addition of Face ID. The iPhone X uses infrared to scan your face and create a likeness that can be used to do everything Touch ID could do previously. This scan is taken from multiple angles, which is similar to the way Touch ID would scan the edges of your fingerprint.

Does it work? Yes it does. It works incredibly well. I’ve only had it fail once, and by the time I’d swiped up from the lower bezel Face ID had re-scanned my face and already authorized me. I wear glasses all the time, including polarized aviator-style prescription sunglasses and I have plenty of facial hair too. I’m very impressed (and a little bit relieved) with how well Face ID works.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 10

Remember Touch ID on the iPhone 5s? Remember how it was slow to react, prone to failure


Touch ID Woes: Troubleshooting The iPhone 5S Fingerprint Scanner




Touch ID Woes: Troubleshooting The iPhone 5S Fingerprint Scanner
There’s no doubting that Apple’s iPhone 5S introduces one of the best implementations of fingerprint scanning, but it’s not been plain sailing for everyone.
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, and wouldn’t work when your fingers were wet or greasy? Face ID solves pretty much all of those problems. It’s fast. So fast that by the time you’ve thought about unlocking your phone it’s already unlocked.

This is an example of how the iPhone X changes the iPhone experience. Unlocking your iPhone is now a process that disappears into the background and happens invisibly. You’ll stop consciously trying to unlock your phone, because it just works.

Face ID helps elevate the iPhone X beyond a simple design refresh. This is the future of biometric authorization. Whether we’re scanning our faces or using microchips embedded in our palms, the process is automatic and delivers a noticeable leap forward in speed and convenience.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 15

A feature called Attention checks whether or not you’re look at the device, to add an additional layer of security. This also prevents the iPhone from dimming the screen while you’re looking at it. You might have to turn off Attention if you live your life in sunglasses, since it doesn’t work so well when your eyes are obscured.

There are other cool things you can do with Face ID, like Apple’s new Animoji. This feature lets you use your real facial expressions on an emoji character, including everyone’s favorite poop. This is fun, but I’m a little disappointed about mouth movements since my Animoji characters don’t really look like they’re talking.

There are of course some privacy concerns with scanning your face. The iPhone X uses a mathematical approach to authorization, while also taking a likeness of your face that can be shared with third party apps with your permission. Apple insists your facial scan never leaves the iPhone, but they can’t necessarily control what third parties do with your likeness — so be careful which apps you authorize.

The Price You Pay

I love the iPhone X, mostly because it’s a sign of the times in terms of what to expect going forward in an iPhone. It’s first real big leap forward since iOS 7, or Touch ID. More screen real estate is always a good thing, and this time round it’s a great thing considering how much dead space has been recovered. I’m fond of the gestures, and I don’t mind the size of the device coming from an iPhone 7 Plus.

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Unforunately, there’s always a drawback. With Apple, it’s usually the price, and the iPhone X is no different. The phone starts at $999 for the 64GB model, and personally I’d expect at least 128GB for that sum. You can upgrade to a 256GB model for $1149 outright.

That’s the price of a good laptop. You could buy an iPhone 8 ($699) and the latest Apple Watch ($329) for virtually the same price. The price is only one part of the equation, since the iPhone 8 does many of the same things


iPhone 8 Review: Smart Phone, Dumb Upgrade




iPhone 8 Review: Smart Phone, Dumb Upgrade
You can ultimately evaluate the iPhone 8 without ever picking it up, if you own a 6s or 7. It’s a refinement of what came before, with unrealised potential in its wireless and fast charging…
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 the iPhone X does. In essence, you’re paying for early access to the future of iPhone. It’s hard to say whether Face ID and a design shake-up justifies the $300 premium over the iPhone 8.

And then there’s all the stuff you probably should have received in the box, which is missing. The iPhone X is a wirelessly charging device, but there’s no wireless charger included and Apple’s own wireless charging isn’t coming till 2018. An iPhone X-compatible Qi wireless charger will cost you about the price of a good Lightning cable, but it’s an additional expensive on top of your $999 investment.

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Even more egregious is the lack of a fast charger. The iPhone X can take advantage of fast charging, reaching 50% capacity within 30 minutes assuming it’s paired with the right charger. Apple included charger won’t do this. In fact, Apple recommends a further $75 for their charger and USB-C to Lightning cable (though you can opt for third party chargers


Best iPhone Wireless Chargers That Are Cheaper Than Apple’s




Best iPhone Wireless Chargers That Are Cheaper Than Apple’s
The iPhone X and iPhone 8 can be charged wirelessly. But most Apple fans don’t know that there are cheaper and better wireless chargers available.
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 and spend half the price).

Wireless charging also feels a bit half-baked, though welcome. The Qi standard can deliver 15w max output, but the iPhone X only draws 7.5w. If you already have a few charging stations around your house, this won’t bother you. For $999 I’d expect something in the box, though.

One other problem I ran into is battery life. I settled on an iPhone 7 Plus for its heroic battery life, but the iPhone X only manages “two hours longer than an iPhone 7” according to Apple. This is odd, considering the size of the device, and it’s another reminder that consumer battery technology is virtually at a standstill at this moment in time.

iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price iphone x 11

If you bought a Plus model partially for the power gains, the iPhone X will likely disappoint. Maybe Apple plans on releasing an iPhone X Plus in the future that improves on this.

A Bright Future

You may have noticed that I didn’t really mention the A11 chip that powers the iPhone X. I feel like we’ve reached a point where this doesn’t really matter any more. The iPhone X flies, like any new iPhone should, and it’s likely to remain highly capable for a few years yet.

The iPhone X is a flagship, business-class device. It’s the first generation of a new generation, and such devices always come with a few pitfalls. It’s expensive, it doesn’t offer the value for money that other models do, and it’s a test run for Apple’s big new facial recognition technology.

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It’s also an accomplishment that Apple should be proud of. It might not be the first example of facial recognition in consumer technology, but it’s the first time it’s worked so well.

Whether or not this experience is worth the money is tough to call. It’s a fantastic device, with a ton of great features, and it reinvents the way you interact and look at your iPhone. But the iPhone 8 does virtually everything the iPhone X does, for less money. Unless you’re hell-bent on this experience, buying an iPhone X might be hard to justify.

It’s a device for the gadget lovers, those who get their kicks from the latest and greatest. It’s the Xbox One X


Xbox One X Review: It’s the Next, Next Generation of Gaming




Xbox One X Review: It’s the Next, Next Generation of Gaming
The Xbox One X is the most powerful console on the market, but there’s very little content at the moment to actually make it worth buying.
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 of smartphones — it does most things a bit better than the previous model, but it’s hard to recommend to everyone. That said, it’s probably the best smartphone I’ve ever used.

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The future of iPhone and smartphones in general is bright. It’ll be really exciting to see how other manufacturers answer the iPhone X, and how Apple follows this up next year. Will we see Face ID on the iPhone 9? Fingers (retinas?) crossed.

Enter the Competition!

iPhone X Giveaway



via MakeUseOf.com
iPhone X Review: The Future Has a Price

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Sugar Was Linked to Heart Disease 50 Years Ago, but the Industry Covered It Up

Photo: TrendHype

Sugar has detrimental effects on our health, and not just because sweet foods tend to have a lot of calories. Plenty of research has shown that the same calories of sugar versus other foods do very different things to our bodies. And new research shows how the sugar industry has tried to hide those findings.

Over the last fifty or so years, the conventional wisdom has been that dietary fat is a main contributor to heart disease. These assumptions are finally being challenged—it’s not as if the cholesterol you eat from eggs or a steak zips from your stomach into your arteries. And research in the last decade has started solidifying the link between sugar consumption and heart disease.

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We’re also seeing new information about how the “wisdom” linking fat to heart disease ever became conventional at all. In the 1960s, scientists researching the causes of heart disease were eyeing sugar as a culprit, and according to a new paper, sugar industry–funded research obscured and buried that connection.

One of the researchers behind the new study, Stanton Glantz of the University of California, San Francisco, told NPR, “What the sugar industry successively did is they shifted all of the blame onto fats.”

Glantz and his collaborators’ research, published in the journal PLOS Biology, looks at how the Sugar Research Foundation, tied to the American sugar trade association, funded its own research into the detrimental health effects of sugar, but pulled funding just before the research could be completed and published, because things were not looking good.

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In 1967, the Sugar Research Foundation secretly funded a review article that discounted research that was pointing to a link between sugar consumption and heart disease. That article was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Then, the SRF embarked on its own study, using rats to compare the health effects of consuming sucrose (sugar) versus starch or a rat’s normal diet.

That study went on for three years. While funding to finish the study was denied—just twelve weeks from completion—the preliminary results showed that rats on a high-sugar diet had higher triglyceride levels in their blood than other rats. In people, high triglycerides are a risk factor for heart attack and stroke. The study also showed a connection between sugar consumption and beta-glucuronidase, an enzyme associated with bladder cancer in humans.

These are rat studies, and risk factors rather than the presence of any disease, so this doesn’t mean that sugar causes heart disease and bladder cancer. The discontinued research wouldn’t have been a smoking gun, but it would have been part of a growing body of evidence that sugar is more than “empty calories.”

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Glantz’s study is part of its own growing body of research, too—one that shows how industry-funded science tends to find results that benefit the industry (and that research that would harm the industry is often aborted or left unpublished), whether it’s cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, or climate change.


via Lifehacker
Sugar Was Linked to Heart Disease 50 Years Ago, but the Industry Covered It Up

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The entire freaking gang is here in first Avengers: Infinity War trailer

Marvel Studios

Unsurprisingly, this holiday season of movies has been met with the first-ever trailer for the most anticipated summer blockbuster of 2018: Avengers: Infinity War.

If Wednesday’s trailer is any indication, we’ll have to wait for a continued trickle of information to see what the heck will happen in the movie, but for now, at least we know that roughly 40 gazillion Marvel characters will be in this one. Also, none of them appears to be happy.

Avengers: Infinity War‘s premiere trailer.

Scarlett Witch and Vision get closest with a calm, moonlit embrace. Otherwise, every Marvel character in the trailer is either writhing in pain, staring intently, or charging into battle. The full cast of both Avengers films can be seen here, with the exception of Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye being conspicuously absent from the trailer. Black Widow has gone blonde, and to show her up, Captain America opts for a beard. Show-off. (We also hear a shout from Black Panther suggesting that someone “give him a shield,” which may or may not be about the Cap.)

We also see the full weight of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brought to bear, with rapid-fire confirmations of Doctor Strange (along with his buddy Wong), Thor, Loki, Spider-man (with an upgraded suit), Okoye, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, and the full Guardians of the Galaxy roster contending with the Infinity Stones-bearing evil of Thanos. (Ant Man may very well be hidden in the 2:24 trailer, as well, in his tiniest form.) It’s a lot of heroes, but considering how charged up Thanos has become in the course of so many Marvel films, that hero overload will probably be required, at least in terms of Marvel Comics continuity.

Whether that tips the film over from friendly-yet-epic to something a little too steel-faced remains to be seen, and this trailer is all posturing and generic exclamations, as opposed to revealing exactly how these characters—who have faced off and betrayed each other plenty in previous films—will unite both with superpowers and in camaraderie. But, hey, that’s what the full film is for, which is still slated for a May 2018 launch.

via Ars Technica
The entire freaking gang is here in first Avengers: Infinity War trailer