AskWoody

ISSUE 23.34.1 • 2026-08-25 By Susan Bradley I am lowering the MS-DEFCON level, but only to 3. August updates have proven themselves to be less than clean. Generally speaking, none of the issues is widespread. They depend upon whether you have specific hardware or are using specific software. And some problems have been reported only […]

ISSUE 23.34 • 2026-08-24 ON SECURITY By Susan Bradley It all started when I was assisting someone who was trying to determine whether their Wi-Fi mesh routers were operating at the best possible speed. I tried to log in to the Web-based interface to the mesh system, which indicated that browser access was disabled. Uh-oh. […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Public water utilities in several US states were hit with coordinated hacker attacks on July 26–27, 2026. The intrusions temporarily knocked Internet-connected control devices offline, forcing some agencies to warn customers to boil tap water. No permanent poisonings occurred, but the exploits may be a hacker group’s test run or […]

WINDOWS 11 By Lance Whitney Bumping into problems trying to use your mouse or touchpad? Windows 11 offers an array of tools and settings that could help you resolve whatever challenges you’re facing. My desktop mouse and my laptop touchpad don’t always behave properly. You, too? Yep, these essential devices that let you navigate your […]

BEN’S WORKSHOP By Ben Myers The power goes out where you live. When it comes back on, you can no longer use your printer. Then what? In the area where I live, we lose electrical power frequently. Many people cannot afford, do not have room for, or will not put up with a large uninterruptable […]