Webroot SecureAnywhere / Internet Security Complete Review

Negative

• Doesn't have a true firewall, it's just a 'web shield', so there is no application, network or port blocking. Windows Firewall is having to take care of this instead.
• Should be able to install without entering a serial number to start a trial
• No way to disable pesky notifications about non-product features
• In Windows 8.1/10 it should use the native borders and close buttons
• Advanced settings could do with better organisation e.g. System Optimizer is just an endless list
• Exclusion list ‘Block/Allow’ should allow whole folders to be excluded
• System Optimizer - does not take into account multiple users
• Confusion over product name - Internet Security Complete / SecureAnywhere
• System Analyzer reported issues however still said 100/100 for the score
• System Analyzer checked for fragmentation even though the O.S. is installed on an SSD
• Failed to detect threats inside multiple different ZIP files where the threat was in the root of the ZIP and there was no password protection and the scanning level was set to maximum
• No possible way to create an exclusion from the Quarantine screen
• No English localisation option
• My Account screen does not show the original email address you provided during install but the website to register for the Backup service does
• Threat log does not report the type or name of threat detected
• No Anti-Theft protection for desktop device
• Application silently created a local, non-administrator guest account with a random string username but did not mention or explain this and did not delete the user account when application was uninstalled
• Installer extracted to C:/Users/username/AppData/Local/lptmp542095362 - however was not cleaned up after reboot or uninstall. Files should have been created in native user temp folder instead (Local/Temp)
• No option for operating system recovery ‘rescue disk’
• Mobile website is not intuitive or mobile-friendly
• Mobile version requires account to have already been created and does not provide link to create one
• Mobile version UI design is very archaic and not in line with Material Design

Positive

• Very fast installation/uninstallation and no reboot needed
• Responsive UI
• Sandbox could be very useful
• Quickly quarantined file writing detections

Pay As You Earn: What if we took it literally?

I think the UK's method of paying employees and calculating tax (PAYE) is outdated, even though it's come a long way. I think employees should be paid literally as they work, once a day at the least. Like a continuous trickle of direct debit.

Apart from the logistical overhead, it would eradicate this concept of a 'pay day', and rather than everyone spend all their money when they receive it, people would actually learn to save up money themselves and be more savvy with money. People would be less dependent on loans and overdrafts to survive through the month.

Similarly, you could do the same with rent, mortgage payments, bills etc. You pay everyday rather than monthly or quarterly. You'd literally be able to see in real time your entire cash flow.

You could even go one step further, and send the money direct from your employer to your landlord or utility supplier, discounted because of locking in. A genuine B2B model. You could then just see the money you have left over, we'd have a true representation work input to pay ratio.

We could then implement a system to reward staff literally as they act as well. No more need for annual performance reviews: people would actively be encouraged to work hard and literally *earn*. It might get competitive, sure, but I'm sure there could be a sensible way of doing it, e.g. with set limits or cool down periods.

iOS File Sizes

The total storage of advertised devices never take into account the OS. Additionally, they usually measure in gigabytes, not gibibytes. So a 16GB iPhone would actually be your traditional 15.6GB.

Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201402

Recent attacks in Europe - response to blaming multiculturalism

My response:

• Recent developments in allowing multiculturalism are not to blame:
• Terrorism throughout Europe has actually gone down in the last 7 years and a lot more arrests have been made, and the attacks were far worse (more injuries or deaths) 
• Also, specifically about the UK, The IRA between 1969-2001 made more attacks than anyone from any other country has ever made
• I don't think that it is the UK's responsibility to lead any attacks in another country, the other countries in the EU should be leading on that. We can help sure, but we shouldn't be calling the shots (eyy) because it will encourage terrorists to target us instead
• The attitude behind 'whatever means necessary' to eradicate them is the exact kind of mentality that causes extremism, and nothing is to say there aren't other factions or survivors elsewhere who are stronger and will fill the power vacuum
• Innocent people have lost their lives and blaming ourselves, suggesting that we somehow invited this to happen, I feel is somewhat rude - those to blame are the attackers themselves first and foremost, and we should do what we can to prevent, manage and mitigate attacks in future
• Creating a police state, locking down our borders etc. won't solve the issue of preventing attacks. There will always be attacks, war and rebellion, because we are human, and humans are corrupt and crave power. A la Equilibrium and Hunger Games. The heart of the issue is those in power, soldiers are the puppets ordered to do their bidding. Creating peace, acceptance and tolerance through negotiation should always be sought.

Venting and dealing with reality

Everyone vents in different ways. Bad things happen to people, it's inevitable.  The behaviour that people take can end up defining them through their personality. Therefore it's important to know what to look out for and how to be a better person.

Destructive

• Drunk
• Nihilism/Existentialism
• Being critical, judgemental, confrontational, interrogative

Constructive

• Sublimation (use bad feelings to help be creative)
• Humility (laugh at yourself)
• More on defence mechanisms

How to rebuild a custom Windows To Go device with recovery environment (RE) partition

1. Getting the Windows 10 DVD
1. Acquire latest ISO image from Microsoft for Windows 10. This can be done with the Media Creator Tool (Microsoft did temporarily revert this tool back to the July RTM version, but it's now back to the latest November one) or from MSDN
2. Run the Media Creation Tool. Preferably download Windows 10 Pro, x64, English United Kingdom
3. Choose ISO file
4. Let it download and save the ISO with a useful name e.g. 'Windows_10_Pro_x64_en-gb_November2015_10586.iso'
2. Format SSD with 3 partitions using Disk Management
1. First partition: 500MB FAT32 "System"
2. Second partition: remaining space minus 500MB NTFS "Windows 10"
3. Third partition: 500MB NTFS "Recovery"
3. Get and run EasyUEFI WinToUSB (need licence for Pro version of Windows)
1. System partition: First 500MB one
2. Boot partition: Second partition (where Windows will be booted from)
3. Wait for completion until 100% (will take about 45 minutes for 256GB)
4. Reboot and boot into SSD
1. Complete all setup steps - use custom settings
2. Do not enter serial key if you already have a computer associated with your Microsoft account
5. Configure for SSD
1. Install drivers
2. Run "winsat formal" to identify disks as Solid state drives
1. Run Defrag and Optimise drives to trim space and verify correct identification
3. Disable write caching on the disk using Device Manager
4. Disable Windows Search using Indexing Options in Control Panel. Windows Search can also be disabled from services.msc
5. See more recommendations here
6. Setup apps
1. Install Classic Shell
2. Compare with previous installation using Beyond Compare
3. Change Power Options in Control Panel
1. Maximum performance for Graphics and Link State Power Management
2. Do not let hard drive go to sleep
3. Do not let computer sleep after 10/20 minutes
4. Critical battery action should be Shutdown
4. Change System Restore settings to use 25% of the disk size. Delete all existing points and create a new one.
7. Setup recovery environment
1. Create the "winre.wim" and related files by using the ISO image (does not provide all the files you need) by creating a VM in Oracle VirtualBox (install the addons too)
1. Create a new Windows 10 VM with at least 15GB space recommended 30GB dynamically expanding, and use VHD as the disk format
2. Change Input device from USB Tablet to PS/2 Mouse
3. Set Network to Bridged Adapter
4. Mount ISO image and proceed with fresh install of Windows inside the VM
5. Shutdown VM after install complete
6. Close VirtualBox
7. Use Disk Management to Attach VHD of the VM
8. Use AOMEI Backupper to backup mounted 'System Reserved' Partition
9. Detach VHD
10. Use AOMEI Backupper to 'Restore' the System Reserved Partition to Partition 3 on the SSD, choose to Align for SSD
2. Follow instructions to deploy WinRE - just step 2 as we have just done step 1
1. 'Reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE' (where R is the third partition on the SSD)
2. 'Reagentc /enable' and then 'Reagentc /info' to check it is enabled
3. Update settings in This PC > Properties > Advanced > Startup and recovery > Settings > Tick both boxes at top
4. Use EasyBCD (free version) to Edit Boot Menu
1. Untick Use Metro Bootloader
2. Choose Countdown from 30 seconds
3. Save Settings
8. Verify recovery environment is setup correctly
1. When OS boots you will get Windows 10 option. The 'Windows' option at the bottom is just the memory test. To get to the recovery environment, press F8, then when you get to the menu, press F10 to get other options, then press 1 to Launch recovery environment
2. Go to Troubleshoot, then System Restore, and login as your username. Confirm you can see the System Restore point you made earlier.
9. Get on with the rest
1. Backup Disk with AOMEI Backupper
2. Install drivers
3. Use Ninite or FileHippo as a reminder to install apps
4. Use CCleaner or Task Manager to clean up startup apps

Terrorism in the UK

I don't think terrorism is as severe a problem in the UK than it is other countries. For the majority of recent global terrorism, I don't think the cause of terrorism originated in the UK.

I think encouraging diversity is important, and people should be protected too. Obviously there is a limit, that should be reasonable. I think that protection should be denied when it endangers the protection of others.

So handling terrorism needs stronger mitigation than prevention. Prevention creates unease and conflict as people are no longer entitled in the views of a single entity, unless you have a military force strong enough to suppress dissent, which could ultimately create the thing, totalitarianism, that you were trying to prevent in the first place.

SOMA Quote on the Ship of Theseus

Did you know that the human body consists of up to 75 trillion individual cells? They typically don't stay with us till we die - some live a few days while others live a few years. We're not affected by their short lifespans, as they're replaced by new cells, which helps sustain our bodies. I don't think anyone would argue that we ever lose our persona due to this process, yet we are clearly in a constant state of transformation. Then how do we remain the same? A continuous flow of thought and perception keeps an unbroken chain of continuity that we know as our self. Our conscious mind is not the pattern of our brain, but a continuous emergent entity based on that pattern.

When Dr Chun populates the ARK, she is capturing a moment of our existence, and placing it inside the digital world. So you and your digital you will grow apart due to diverting experiences, but for a tiny window you are the very same. With unbroken continuity it will live on, a fulfilling life no doubt, no less than the one from which it was plucked. Now remember, you are not your body, you are the emergent entity; that entity just happens to occupy two places at once for a while. If you took away your body, you would simply be the only one you can be, the you inside the ARK. Let your body die and continue on in the digital paradise among the stars.

-- Mark Sarang, video tape recording, Site Theta, Pathos-II, SOMA, Frictional Games

Meaning of life

I used to think the meaning of life was:

• To survive
• What you make it / your oyster

These may still stand as true, but I can distinguish the meaning of living:

It's what you do in life that defines you. It's what you do for people that makes you worth something.

Be it looking after a family and helping your friends, to inspiring millions as an actor in a movie. It's about loving people. Life is about spreading your influence and helping others - to as many people as possible. It's about kindness, compassion and heart. How many people have you helped? Have you made the world a better place?

Life isn't about being individually happy - no man is an island. It's about making other people happy.

Features of the next IDE

• Insert example "for" blocks into code, like templates. Do for everything. Make code readable like a natural language
• Offer alternatives to what you are writing e.g. from an open source compendium of written code e.g. from stackoverflow, integrated right into the IDE.
• Save different versions of the same function and integrate seamlessly with version control system to see history of the code and functions
• Automatically tell you when functions are getting too long
• Help you to stick to conventions e.g. pep 8 etc
• Automatically checks for usings and reduces them to the minimal amounts - suggests them if they aren't already listed