I declined KB2952664 in our WSUS instance. This update phones home and reports whatever you have installed. I see no reason to be spied upon. Not to mention that this update is not a oneshot update, it creates a couple of scheduled tasks that run regularly. This one is related to KB3035583, and both should […]

Read More → Appraiser or Hellraiser? KB2952644

I got my copy of “Programming — Principles and Practice Using C++”, second edition, today. My copy is of the third printing, dated June 2015, so it’s a pretty recent printing. I’m not teaching programming nor C++ at my school, although I used to. My job is simply to be the school’s system administrator, but […]

Read More → Programming — Principles and Practice Using C++, 2nd edition

The strange combination of FreeBSD/i386, stable/10, OpenSSL from ports, optimized assembly code, Dell PowerEdge 1950, Intel Xeon X5450@3.00GHz, and BIOS 2.5.0, resulted in core dumps for all applications linked with OpenSSL from ports.

Read More → FreeBSD/i386, stable/10, OpenSSL from ports, optimized assembly code, Dell PowerEdge 1950, Xeon X5450@3.00GHz, and BIOS 2.5.0

mosh 1.2.5 is out, but not yet available as a CygWin package. I decided I should upgrade my CygWin installation in preparation. That proved not so fruitful. The new mintty 2.1.1 crashed with the infamous STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION stack dump. I’m a bit surprised there’s no mintty-debuginfo package as it would make it easier to know what’s […]

Read More → CygWin 2.871 (64 bit) and mintty 2.1.1 – STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION

Microsoft is pretty sneaky. They camouflage their Windows 10 downloader, KB3035583, as a recommended Windows 7 update with no indication of what good this update does. Only by clicking on the first link is its true intention revealed. As a contrast, the dreaded KB976002 browser choice update was well marked with its intention even in […]

Read More → KB3035583

As implied by email protocols, the information in this message is not confidential. Any middle-man or recipient may inspect, modify, copy, forward, reply to, delete, or filter email for any purpose unless said parties are otherwise obligated. As the sender, I acknowledge that I have a lower expectation of the control and privacy of this […]

Read More → Email is not so confidential after all