Monroe

These crazy asteroids seem to be in the news a lot over the last year or two. It went by Monday morning after just being discovered on Saturday ... not enough time to even pack and get out of town to a cave. It went by in the space between the Earth and the Moon ... size of a 10 story building ... all from the article below. What's the point of trying to keep WinXP or any computer up to date ... does it really matter? https://www.cnet.com/news/asteroid-2017-ag13-passes-earth-moon-slooh/ Sneaky asteroid spotted whizzing between Earth and Moon A space rock large enough to do damage gives us a near miss just two days after being discovered. An asteroid roughly the size of a 10-story building gave Earth a particularly close pass Monday morning. Asteroid 2017 AG13 came within half the distance from Earth to the moon as it buzzed by early Monday morning at 4:47 a.m. PT. The fly-by happened shortly after scientists at the Catalina Sky Survey first discovered the space rock on Saturday. As you can see in the GIF below, the asteroid looks to just barely miss us as it passes. In the cosmic sense, it really was a close shave. In real terms, Earth had well over a 100,000-mile (161,000 kilometer) buffer of distance. 2017 AG13 isn't so big it would have meant an extinction-level event had it been a direct hit. But if a good size chunk of it made it through Earth's upper atmosphere near a populated area, there might have been damage like we saw in 2013 when a bolide collided with the atmosphere over the Russian city Chelyabinsk. In that event, a fireball streaked over the city, releasing 500 kilotons of energy as it ran up against some serious resistance from Earth's atmosphere and exploded, blowing out windows all over town in the process. Earlier close calls 'B2Bomber' asteroid misses Earth; humanity exhales The asteroid is about 36 to 111 feet (11 to 34 meters) across, according to the Slooh Observatory, and moving very fast relative to Earth at 10 miles (16 kilometers) per second. That speed, coupled with 2017 AG13's dim brightness level, made it difficult to spot with telescopes. Various telescopes and sky surveys constantly scan Earth's neighborhood and track nearby asteroids. Most pass by at a distance several times farther away than the moon is to us, so this was a particularly close buzz by a previously unknown object. ...

I actually had one more problem showing up with the K-Meleon browser when going to that test page. I also was getting this warning ... Logjam Vulnerability Your user agent is vulnerable. Upgrade as soon as possible. ... so checking around with Google ... I found this solution for Firefox and applied it to the K-Meleon browser. So now when I go to the test page, I get this: Logjam Vulnerability Your user agent is not vulnerable. This is the information I found to fix it: Nice. But way better: Change all 'security.ssl3' lines to 'false' EXCEPT security.ssl3.ecdhe_ecdsa_aes_128_gcm_sha256 (?) security.ssl3.ecdhe_rsa_aes_128_gcm_sha256 (?) security.ssl3.ecdhe_rsa_aes_256_sha (OK) security.ssl3.ecdhe_rsa_aes_256_sha;true (KM) and security.ssl3.rsa_aes_256_sha (OK) security.ssl3.rsa_aes_256_sha;true (KM) These 4 lines must stay 'true'. Done! Ralf Buxa May 27, 2015 I could not find the first two lines (?) ... only the last two where I have (OK) and below each line is a 'line copy' from K-Meleon ... they match exactly ... but as I said earlier, the first two lines don't appear in my K-Meleon version. So all the ssl3 lines in my K-Melon browser are now FALSE except for those two lines that I did find and and left as 'true'. So my question would be now ... since the browser test page is no longer showing 'any problems' ... would the KM browser be OK for banking and more secure type pages or could there still be some problems not showing with this older browser? I can keep using Pale Moon but I was wondering about K-Meleon also being OK now to use again with these sites? ... just to add about those first two lines that I did not find in the KM 'about:config' ... I did find two lines that were very similar but those two lines did not have 'gcm' in them. Not sure if I should have left those two lines as 'true' but they did not 'exactly' match so I made them 'false'. Any input on this would be helpful. Everything seems to be working so far with the KM browser. monroe

OK ... thanks for that information about 'turning off' those six insecure findings. I did turn them off or set them to False in 'about:config'. I did not know about doing that ... yes, K-Meleon is similar to Firefox in many ways. Just ran that browser test again and nothing is showing as Insecure. monroe

HoppaLong ... why don't you also download the last version of Pale Moon that works with XP. I think it was in November that XP support was dropped. I just checked my PM setup and it works fine with reCAPTCHA. I also have an older version of K-Meleon that works fine also (v1.8.2.4) but I don't think you can find that at the KM forum now ... the KM member that developed this particular version ... deleted ALL his posts and the download link and just left sometime back in 2016 or 2015. There may be someone there with the complete download. However, that version of KM is not possibly safe for banking and such. I just discovered this last month (December) ... I had my worries about it until I ran the browser test but KM is so handy to use in turning things off and on ... I sort of looked the other way until I ran the browser check. So you probably don't want that KM browser version anyway. It's still OK for everyday surfing. The last version of PM (Pale Moon 26.5.0 for Atom/Windows XP) works just fine so far and passes the browser test with flying colors and should be OK for banking and other sites ... hopefully for a long time. Pale Moon 26.5.0 for Atom/Windows XP http://www.palemoon.org/palemoon-atom.shtml End of Windows XP support in Pale Moon http://www.palemoon.org/PM_end_of_WinXP_support.shtml Browser Test Page: Mathwiz posted this browser test link in another thread ... "You can go to ... https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html ... with any browser to see what security protocols, encryption ciphers, etc. your browser supports." ... just ran the browser test again on my KM version and PM. I do not understand the terms but there are six insecure notifications with KM and none with PM v26.5.0. I now use PM for more security at certain sites. I don't know how insecure KM is but the PM results look better to me. My KM results from the test ... everything else seemed to be OK except for these six mentions. Protocols TLS 1.2 Yes TLS 1.1 Yes TLS 1.0 Yes SSL 3 No SSL 2 No Cipher Suites (in order of preference) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA (0xc007) INSECURE 128 TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA (0xc011) INSECURE 128 TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA (0xc002) INSECURE 128 TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA (0xc00c) INSECURE 128 TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA (0x5) INSECURE 128 TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_MD5 (0x4) INSECURE 128 ...

There are several pictures at the link ... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4092190/Now-S-faithful-steed-Heartbreaking-video-shows-Sereno-horse-appearing-CRY-owner-s-funeral.html?mwv_rm=rta Now THAT'S a faithful steed! Heartbreaking video shows Sereno the horse appearing to CRY at his owner's funeral The horse lies its head on the coffin and whines and sighs as though mourning Sereno and his Brazilian owner, 34, had a very close relationship, friends testify The semi-professional cowboy died on New Year's Day in a motorbike accident By Harriet Mallinson For Mailonline 05 January 2017 This is the heartbreaking moment a distressed horse appeared to cry at his owner's funeral. Grieving friends and family of Wagner de Lima Figueiredo, 34, were amazed when his faithful steed laid its head on the coffin and whined and sighed as if mourning too. Saddening footage shows the animal stamping his feet, whinnying loudly and shaking his head up and down as a pall-bearer gives a eulogy. Sereno the horse was taken to the funeral by Wagner's brother, Wando de Lima, on on Tuesday in Paraiba, north east Brazil. The two had a very close relationship, according to those who knew them. Thousands have been moved by the farewell from the horse and have shared the story online. De Lima said: 'This horse was everything to Wagner, it was as if the horse knew what was happening and wanted to say goodbye. 'All the way to the cemetery he was whimpering and stomping on the ground.' Figueiredo tragically died in a motorcycle accident on New Year's Day after losing control of his bike while riding along a beach front in the city. He was rushed to hospital and underwent two critical operations but died from his injuries. The semi-professional cowboy performed in rodeo shows for eight years with Sereno, winning dozens of tournaments and cash prizes. He also worked as a local authority clerk. A close friend of the family, Francielio Limiera, said: 'It was an unbelievable thing to see the way the horse behaved. If I hadn't been there I wouldn't have believed it myself. 'As we brought the coffin out at the beginning of the funeral, (Sereno) sounded like he was crying and as if he recognised that his owner was finally leaving him. He pounded the ground with his hooves and kept on whinnying. It was very sad.' De Lima, who is also a cowboy, organised the homage with other cowboys and friends of the deceased. A photo posted on Facebook last year November showing Figuieredo with his white horse, was captioned 'My horse and my friend.' His brother said: 'Wagner's life was this horse. 'He had a passion and a great love for him. Sometimes he would even stop buying things for himself to make sure he could afford to buy horse feed.' He added that many people had offered to buy the white stallion but Figuiered 'always refused to sell him.' With the death of his brother, de Lima vowed to take on the responsibility of maintaining and caring for Sereno. He said: 'Wagner will stay with our family forever.' According to Marcelo Servos, a veterinarian with the Brazilian Horse Riding Federation, who has been caring for horses for 20 years, a horse can be aware of and mourn a loved one's death. He said: 'I've seen more fantastic stories than this and I'm sure this can happen. I do not say it happened specifically in this case, but it is possible.' ...

There are actually two objects approaching Earth ... one has been identified as a 'massive' comet and the other is still unknown. Comet could be visible this week or soon. Both objects don't appear to be a threat ... so NASA is saying ... just a close flyby I guess. NASA Says Mysterious Object Hurtling Towards Earth Could Be an Asteroid or a Comet Libby Plummer - 04 JAN 2017 http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/nasa-says-mysterious-object-hurtling-9560987 NASA recently spotted two massive space objects hurtling towards Earth. While the American space agency has pinpointed one as a comet, the other has left it slightly more baffled. The comet is set to fly close to Earth this week, but the mystery object isn't expected to make an appearance until February. The object, dubbed "2016 WF9", was detected by NASA's asteroid- and comet-hunting NEOWISE project on 27 November 2016. It is roughly 0.3 to 0.6 miles (0.5 to 1 kilometres) across and is in an orbit that takes it on a scenic tour of our solar system. At its farthest distance from the sun, it approaches Jupiter's orbit. Over the course of 4.9 Earth-years, it travels inward, passing under the main asteroid belt and the orbit of Mars until it swings just inside Earth's own orbit. After that, it heads back toward the outer solar system. However, NASA scientists are not sure whether it is a comet or an asteroid . "2016 WF9 could have cometary origins," said Deputy Principal Investigator James "Gerbs" Bauer at NASA's JPL. "This object illustrates that the boundary between asteroids and comets is a blurry one; perhaps over time this object has lost the majority of the volatiles that linger on or just under its surface." While 2016 WF9 is dark like a comet, it appears to lack the characteristic dust and gas cloud that defines a comet. On 25 February, 2017 WF9 will approach Earth's orbit at a distance of nearly 32 million miles (51 million kilometres) from our home planet. NASA said that the object is "not a threat to Earth for the foreseeable future". Meanwhile, the other object, which has been firmly classified as a comet could be visible this week. The comet, C/2016 U1 NEOWISE, "has a good chance of becoming visible through a good pair of binoculars, although we can't be sure because a comet's brightness is notoriously unpredictable," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies at JPL. Those in the northern hemisphere may be able to spot the comet in the southeastern sky shortly before dawn this week. It is moving farther south each day and it will reach its closest point to the sun, inside the orbit of Mercury, on 14 January, before heading back out to the outer reaches of the solar system for an orbit lasting thousands of years. While the comet may be visible to stargazers, it is not considered to be a threat to the planet. The NEOWISE project discovered more than 34,000 asteroids during its original mission and was brought out of hibernation in December 2013 to detect comets and asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. ...

Thanks jumper ... so the letter j is really a numerical 10 ... 10th letter in the alphabet, if I counted my fingers correctly. That's good to know for the future. Mathwiz ... I was at that web page in December ... the link you provided but I didn't save it to my Favorites ... so I couldn't find it again when I was searching earlier today. I'm going to leave those ddl versions on my computers for the DVD backup. I like to get everything as close to 100% correct as possible ... but I'm happy with a backup that's very close. You guys said they were OK as Dibya said also. ...

Dibya ... you are fast ... I did some edits to my earlier post just now ... you may have missed them. I added a few lines and fixed some minor stuff. monroe

I'm getting ready to do a DVD backup with some fixes and updates for my three notebooks for the end of 2016. Last month I replaced both the ssleay32.dll and libeay32.dll in my System32 folder with newer versions ... the versions in the System32 folder were old and after searching around I found a newer version for both. I have been using them for several weeks and have noticed no problems. It's also possible that these two dlls were not in the System32 folder or possibly only one was there. They seem to be in individual folders for several software programs that I have on my computers. These are the versions I am currently using ... ssleay32.dll v1.0.2.10 and libeay32.dll v1.0.2.10 ... does anyone have anything to say or add about these two dll versions? They were listed to work with WinXP. Libeay32.dll for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP (32 Bit and 64 Bit) Recommended system requirements: Windows XP or later 128MB RAM 500MHz CPU 50MB hard drive space August 29, 2016 - OpenSSL 1.1.0 is quite different from previous releases. Developers need to recompile their software to support 1.1.0. Users should install BOTH the 1.0.2 series (LTS) and the 1.1.0 series for maximum application compatibility. See the official OpenSSL release strategy document for more details. 32-bit and 64-bit Windows To install OpenSSL in a 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, you need to copy the libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll dynamic library files to your file system. Download the OpenSSL compressed library files and copy the libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll files to your system path. 32-bit Windows: You must copy the libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll 32-bit files to your Windows system folder (System32 folder). Download page for files: http://indy.fulgan.com/SSL/ I am not really sure with all the downloads dated 04 Jan 2016 ... I was last here in Dec 2016 but the last download ... (openssl-1.0.2j-i386-win32) 2017-01-04 05:04 1.0M is still version 1.0.2.10 for both ... as I got in December. I would like some input on all this, it seems to be a bit confusing to me. I guess using these two version 1.0.2.10 updates for ssleay and libeay would be OK ? monroe

Thanks FranceBB ... I actually have Speccy on my WinXP setup, but I haven't used it for so long that I completely forgot about it. I just fired it up and yes, you are right ... lots of information there. I have the version 1.11.256 from 2011, so I will update to the the newer version at File Hippo - Speccy 1.30.730 (Nov 2016). I have an older version of Astra32 and a newer version of Everest ... use them often but completely forgot about Speccy. I had a fan in my T41 go bad and went to the ThinkPad forum for assistance. I got everything replaced with a good seller from eBay and new thermal paste. After what I saw in my T41 ... when I got inside to clean and replace the fan ... the thermal paste was dried out. I also have two ThinkPad T42s and I cleaned them out really good and replaced the thermal paste also ... everything was dry. It sure didn't look right to me.

I never heard of this program till about 30 minutes ago over at the ThinkPad forum ... from some posts from 2005. It is still available for download at this link ... only one I could find but I stopped looking when I found this one and it still worked. It seems to be only for an older system like WinXP. I am going to try it out later to see if it has any use ... some people seemed to like it in 2005 at the ThinkPad forum. The download link supplied there no longer works. Maybe it still can be of use to WinXP people. http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/MobileMeter.shtml MobileMeter v0.3.1.0 Made to monitor the CPU clock and temperature, HDD temp and battery charge/discharge rate, compatible with Windows XP and older systems. MobileMeter is a very old software application designed to display live sensor readings for notebooks when it comes to the CPU clock and temperature, battery lifespan, and HDD temp. Apart from the battery, its features also work for desktops. However, it seems that the tool has been abandoned a while back, so it has not been made compatible with newer operating systems. Those still running Windows XP, 2000 or Server 2003 may give it a go. No installation necessary There is no setup pack involved, which makes MobileMeter portable. It means that you can save it to a pen drive or other removable storage unit and run it on any PC easily and without any other installers. Plus, it does modify Windows registry settings or create extra files on the disk, leaving it clean after removal. Accessibility via the system tray At startup, MobileMeter creates an icon in the taskbar notifications area for quick access. Its interface is based on a small graph that keeps track of the processor frequency, CPU and HDD temperature, along with battery charge rate. Disable any components or change their reading refresh rate It is possible to minimize the window to the tray, make it stay on top of other frames, change its size or fix it, adjust its opacity, as well as to make it clickthrough when working with other applications. The frequency may be adjusted or removed from the graph, while the update refresh rate can be altered. Likewise, you can disable the battery power, HDD and ACPI temp readings or set an update frequency for each component. Evaluation and conclusion MobileMeter has minimal impact on computer performance, since it runs on low CPU and memory. However, it is a very old application and may not work well on some computer systems. Plus, you should keep in mind that it is not supported by Windows Vista and upward, so you should probably look for another monitoring tool to be on the safe side. *** Tried the program ... will use it or have it handy to use. When you start it ... let it run for a few minutes and you will see the graphs start to show up on the right side. The figures ... CPU temp and Frequency are accurate and match another program that I have installed. I do like the graph records ... very easy to check for spikes or to just see what's been going on for 30 or 60 minutes. In options there is a setting to color the graphs with depth ... more interesting to read. Also, just to mention ... I came across this neat fan and temperature control program just before Christmas. I had never heard of it but for anyone with an older ThinkPad, you may want to check it out. It's a small free program made by a member to monitor several temperature sensors in a ThinkPad. It was originally made for a ThinkPad T42 but later versions did seem to work with other models. You will have to read the last pages of the thread. It will keep the fan from running all the time ... you set the settings you like. The last version is TPFC 0.62 (TPFanControl) ... the thread is 39 pages long so the last 8 or 10 pages may be off interest: Thinkpad Fan Noise Problem: Light at the End of the Tunnel ... I know there are some ThinkPad owners here. ...

I guess it's real ... just discovered ... Amazon has a patent on a giant flying drone Mothership zeppelin warehouse. It will fly at 45,000feet, shuttle employees and fuel to the Mothership. Drones will leave the airship flying everywhere making deliveries. I am taking bits of information out of two articles. I will put the links in for both articles. I'm wondering about employees working that high in altitude ... will take a special breed for that job. Amazon reveals plans to make deliveries using incredible airship drone base Online retail giant granted patent for astonishing blimp which can carry a vast fleet of robotic flying vehicles. 29th December 2016 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2494314/amazon-reveals-plans-to-make-deliveries-using-incredible-airship-drone-base/ "The patent, granted by the US patent office in April but only uncovered this week by tech analyst Zoe Leavitt, describes motherships floating above cities that release drones that save energy by dropping with gravity before kicking in with their motors." Amazon patented a fantastical floating airship warehouse for its delivery drones Dec 29, 2016 http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/29/14114190/amazon-patent-drone-airship-delivery "A giant airship, that would fly at high altitudes of around 45,000 feet in the air, and would then deploy individual drones to deliver Amazon's goods to customers. Additional, smaller airships would be used to return the drones back to the AFC, resupply the mothership with more inventory and fuel, and shuttle workers to the flying factory." ...

You have the Chinese villager cracking walnuts with a hand grenade for 25 years ... now this massive WW 2 bomb discovered last week in Germany. It had three detonators and buried for seventy years. There have been bombs discovered before but this one was really large, almost two tons back in that era. It's amazing it hit the ground and never exploded with three detonators. Police defuse massive World War II bomb in German city December 25, 2016 - Associated Press http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/25/police-defuse-massive-world-war-ii-bomb-in-german-city.html?intcmp=latestnews FRANKFURT, Germany – Explosives experts on Sunday defused a large World War II aerial bomb in the southern German city of Augsburg — clearing the way for thousands of evacuated residents to return to their Christmas celebrations at home. City police tweeted that they had "good news at Christmas" just before 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) Sunday. They had earlier been unable to say how long residents would have to stay away. Some 32,000 households with 54,000 residents in the city's historic central district were forced to leave by 10 a.m. Christmas morning so experts could handle the bomb. They had to clean seven decades of muck off the bomb so they could find and disable its three detonators. The munition's large size — 1.8 tons — suggested it was a so-called blockbuster of the type dropped by British forces, with the aim of blowing surrounding buildings apart so that accompanying incendiary bombs could start fires more easily. The bomb was uncovered last week during construction work in the city's historic central district. Police said Christmas Day was the best time to defuse it because there was less traffic and it was more likely that people could stay with relatives. Police rang doorbells and used vans with loudspeakers to urge procrastinators to leave ahead of a 10 a.m. deadline. Schools and sports facilities were opened as shelters but most people appeared to have left on Christmas Eve. Finding World War II bombs is not unusual in Germany. Much of Augsburg's historic center was destroyed on Feb. 25-26, 1944, when hundreds of British and U.S. bombers attacked the city. ...

A very lucky villager ... he didn't know what it was. "The man saw that his walnut cracker looked similar to a grenade pictured on a leaflet warning about forbidden explosives." Dec 23, 2016 Villager in China uses grenade to crack open walnuts for 25 years http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/villager-in-china-uses-grenade-to-crack-open-walnuts-for-25-years BEIJING - A hand grenade was used to crack walnuts for 25 years by a villager in China who had no idea what he was using until he saw a photo of a grenade on a leaflet handed out by local police. The man from Ankang, in China's Shaanxi province, saw that his walnut cracker looked similar to a grenade pictured on a leaflet warning about forbidden explosives, according to Huanqiu.com. According to villagers, the man used the grenade specifically to crack open the nuts. According to reports, the man had been using the grenade without realising what it was for some 25 years, said Britain's Mail Online on Dec 21. It had been given to him by a friend. Images taken on Dec 5 (2016) show the device. Police found that the grenade had not detonated and they were unsure if the device had explosives inside it, the Mail said. It was only when the man was handed a police leaflet that he realised that he possessed a forbidden explosive. Grenades usually explode when the safety lever is released and the object is thrown away. As it rotates, it detonates the primer and ignites the fuse before burning down to the detonator, said the Mail. People have been commenting on social media site Weibo about the man's lucky escape. One user wrote: "Why would a friend gift him a bomb?" Another said: "It's more stable than a Samsung phone." ...

I would also have enjoyed that "leisurely" flight through Europe ... a chance to talk with the pilot and crew. You didn't mention any champagne or three course meal ... like the lucky women had on their flight. Maybe you were lucky to get some wine and snacks ... maybe even a small meal. Still sounds like a nice experience. The only experience I ever had ... not as lucky as you or the three women ... was on a Greyhound Bus in 1963 or 1964. I was taking the bus from Frederick, MD to Pittsburgh, PA ... had to stop at Hagerstown, MD in between. The bus also had many other stops on the way to Pittsburgh ... going through the mountains to various small towns. However, when I got to Hagerstown to catch the bus to Pittsburgh ... that bus had been filled with passengers already waiting at Hagerstown, so it left. When I got there from Frederick, the bus depot explained all this and said they were getting another bus ready to leave for Pittsburgh shortly. So myself and two other people had the bus to ourselves and the bus didn't take the route through the mountains ... it went straight through over the PA Turnpike to Pittsburgh. However, I didn't get any champagne or a three course meal ... not even any peanuts! The women lucked out due to circumstances and have some great memories from that experience ... till the next time they fly somewhere packed like sardines ... they will even appreciate that flight even more. monroe

Probably once in a lifetime to have a flight like this for common everyday people ... just got lucky when everything fell into place. "Three women have said they were treated like "rock stars" when they found themselves alone on a British Airways flight for 150 people. Laura Stevens, 34, said she and friends Sarah Hunt, 35, and Laurie-Lin Waller, 33, were upgraded to business class, drank Champagne and took selfies in the cockpit on the 2.5-hour flight. The women were due to fly back to the UK on the 5.20pm flight from Gibraltar to London Heathrow on December 18 after enjoying a three-day break." "We felt like celebrities, especially when we were given Champagne – it was the best Christmas present ever, we couldn't believe how kind and lovely everyone was. "We were the only people in the departure lounge so staff let us use the executive suite, which is usually reserved for business flight passengers. "Then we mentioned how we'd hoped to buy our family gifts at the airport, and staff opened shops so we could browse. It was as though we'd hired out the place just for us." Three British Airways passengers treated like 'rock stars' when they found they were the only people on board their flight http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/23/three-british-airways-passengers-treated-like-rock-stars-found/ Telegraph Reporters 23 December 2016 ... there are pictures and the complete story at the link. ...

I wondered why Firefox was jumping these version numbers so frequently. The FF versions in the 30s and early 40s ... I was using some of them as a current User Agent for my older K-Meleon browser. It mostly works almost 100% for most web sites ... don't get "your browser is out of date" messages and all that. As I mentioned earlier ... I never worked with FF until the Pale Moon "dropping WinXP" announcement ... then after I download FF and get all my settings the way I want them, I learn it's dropping WinXP also ... although it will be another year or two ... maybe a little longer. ...

OK ... that makes sense explaining about one ESR release a year ... with eight version updates for each release. As I posted earlier, I just started using Firefox when Pale Moon announced they were ending support for WinXP. I really have little knowledge about Firefox before that announcement. I remember seeing versions in the 30's and 40's some time back ... but I didn't really know how they were spaced or changed. I was happy with Pale Moon ... I plan to keep using the last version of Pale Moon for some time into the future and also will be using the last Firefox ESR version after 2018 for as long as I can. I will keep using this test link to check PM and FF ESR in the future for security. https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html Mathwiz ... thanks for clearing all this up. ...

Well I did look at your chart and also again before I posted today. I suppose the only excuse is ... I simply did not know what I was looking at. I still do not see 2018 on that chart ... but I'm sure it's there somewhere ! ...

OK ... the reason I asked earlier about Firefof ESR. I had read something earlier about the ESR version still being OK with Win XP into the future. I couldn't find what I had read till just now ... it says well into 2018. "It is unclear as of now for how long XP or Vista will be supported on the ESR channel. Firefox ESR 52 will be supported for quite a while. The new version will become available with the release of Firefox 52 on March 7, 2017, and will be supported until mid 2018. Firefox users on XP or Vista may use Firefox therefore at least up until that time unless Mozilla decides to remove support for those operating systems from ESR at one point before the release of Firefox ESR 59 (which seems unlikely)." https://www.ghacks.net/2016/09/27/firefox-53-no-support-for-windows-xp-or-vista/ Firefox 53: no support for Windows XP or Vista By Martin Brinkmann on September 27, 2016 in Firefox - Last Update:September 27, 2016 Mozilla plans to end mainline support for the Microsoft operating systems Windows XP and Windows Vista with the release of Firefox 53 in March 2017. This means that Firefox 52 will be the last feature update for those operating systems, as Firefox 53 cannot be installed anymore on those operating systems. Mozilla explicitly mentions installations that it plans to block. It is unclear whether it plans to block execution of portable versions of Firefox as well. The organization plans to migrate Firefox users on XP or Vista to Firefox ESR automatically however to extend support. Bug 1305453 on Bugzilla lists the plan to stop stand-alone Firefox 53 and up installers from installing Firefox on XP or Vista machines. We plan to eol XP/Vista by first moving those users out to ESR 52. Once 52 merges to aurora, we should land changes to the stand alone installer to prevent install by XP and Vista users. Initially there shouldn't be an issue with running but eventually we'll import a system dependency that will break browser startup. Another bug, bug 1303827, highlights Mozilla's plan to move XP users to Firefox's ESR branch when version 52 gets released. Firefox 51 is therefore the last version of the browser that is not ESR. We've decided to move Windows XP to the Firefox 52 ESR branch, so that Firefox 51 will be the last mainline version to support the platform. We still don't have an official EOL date for XP support, but moving the platform to the ESR branch means that we will *not* need to worry about new feature support for XP which is becoming increasingly difficult. It is unclear as of now for how long XP or Vista will be supported on the ESR channel. Firefox ESR 52 will be supported for quite a while. The new version will become available with the release of Firefox 52 on March 7, 2017, and will be supported until mid 2018. Firefox users on XP or Vista may use Firefox therefore at least up until that time unless Mozilla decides to remove support for those operating systems from ESR at one point before the release of Firefox ESR 59 (which seems unlikely). Microsoft ended support for Windows XP on April 2014, and plans to end support for Windows Vista on April 2017. Windows XP has not received security updates since April 2014, unless you have applied this little tweak to the machine. Google stopped supporting XP and Vista back in Chrome in April 2016 already. Mozilla Firefox is the last major web browser that supports XP and Vista (when you look at use figures). (via Sören Hentzschel)

OK ... that brings to mind another step with MWB 1.75. If that Window pops up saying your database is over 10 days old and needs to be updated ... don't update that way. I always go into the program and update myself with the Update tab ... then before you do the update, you can go and uncheck all those boxes. Should be no problem after that. I never update from that Window that pops up before the program actually starts. ...

Just to add ... I also still use Malwarebytes v1.75. I mentioned this in another post in Sep 2015. If you don't want v1.75 to upgrade to a new version, follow these steps: "You don't have to upgrade when getting database updates for the older version, you need to take out the checkmarks under the 'Settings' tab. Go to 'Settings' ... then go to 'Updater Settings' and uncheck: Download and install program update if available ... I also uncheck: Notify me when a program update is ready for installation I can get Database updates for the older 1.75 version and no 'Program Updates' are downloaded ... nothing is changed except for the newer Database updates." Then if you want to update another computer "offline" ... just go to ... C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Malwarebytes ... copy 'rules.ref' and in the Configuration folder copy 'database.conf' ... just replace these two files in the 'offline' computer and you have it currently updated. So if you are having problems with an 'offline' computer and you already have Malwarebytes v1.75 installed, just update it and run the program, if you can't get online with that computer. ...

heinoganda ... I use the link that dencorso has supplied earlier in this thread ... it is the full version with no adware. You might want to check that out. I used to download Shockwave from File Hippo but now I just use the site to check for a newer version. monroe

Technology gone amok ... this is maybe something to be concerned about, I don't know. This seems to be along the lines of various gadgets in modern homes keeping track of everything and then being hacked in some way. Younger people still in their teens and early 20's will face the onslaught of being tracked everywhere ... their homes from smart TVs, refrigerators and such ... hotel rooms with various electronics, can you really have any privacy in a hotel room these days? ... then their cars and car rentals. Moving to a nice warm laid back island with some limited modern technology or in laid back middle America, somewhere off the beaten path or a small coastal ocean village where tourists don't stop very often ... just the sound of waves and seagulls. Fitness tracker Christmas prezzies could bump up insurance premiums and leak personal data on the dark web Christmas gift guide favourites like Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfit, Samsung Gear and Apple trackers come with a safety and security warning, according to the experts by MARGI MURPHY 19th December 2016 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2433599/fitness-tracker-christmas-prezzies-could-bump-up-insurance-premiums-and-leak-personal-data-on-the-dark-web/ GADGETS to help you lose weight are being used by private companies to track you and could have terrible consequences in the future, experts have warned. They claim companies’ unprecedented access to smartwatches and fitness band data could eventually bump up your insurance premium, affect your job and even lead to your identity being stolen. A report by the Centre for Digital Democracy warned that all wearable gadgets posed serious privacy and security risks. American manufacturers could be feeding information it collects from gadgets that monitor your heart rate, sleep pattern, calorie consumption and stress levels to private healthcare and insurance companies, it stated. This information can make these companies mega-bucks in targeted advertising. Even if a company has promised not to sell on your data — it’s at risk of a massive cyber hack as crooks eye it up to potentially sell on on the dark web for mind-boggling amounts. The report stated: “Biosensors will routinely be able to capture not only an individual’s heart rate, body temperature, and movement, but also brain activity, moods, and emotions. “These data can, in turn, be combined with personal information from other sources—including health-care providers and drug companies—raising such potential harms as discriminatory profiling, manipulative marketing, and security breaches.” There are fears that personal information could get into the hands of personal healthcare insurance companies and your employers’ too, who may use the information to discriminate against you. The report found that using the personal information "could enable profiling and discrimination—based on ethnicity, age, gender, medical condition, and other information—across a spectrum of fields, such as employment, education, insurance, finance, criminal justice, and social services, affecting not only individuals but also groups and society at large". ...

heinoganda ... thanks for the Flash Player update links. Since that Adobe Flash page was taken away it is not easy to just get the updates sometimes. Also, I know your links will be correct and work. The same goes for others that post various update links ... very handy to have them available here in the forum. monroe *** I might add there hasn't been a Shockwave update since around the end of September ... File Hippo has the last update as Shockwave Player 12.2.5.195 ... September 30, 2016. Seems like a long time ... I guess nothing needed fixed.