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Saturday 9 am – 11 am Pacific
Sunday 7 pm – 9 pm Pacific
775-241-3571
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- Snow Socks
- The Onion
- Vote Game (web)
- Vote Game (steam)
- Reset Windows
- Iographer Phone Rigs
- endof10.org
- Parrot and Alexa
- Install Linux Help
- Linux Mint
- Toronto Adfection Report
- Rufus Boot USB
- Gentoo Linux (easy start)
- Distrowatch.com
- Carson City Linux Group
- Patch Tuesday 1000+!
- Hair on Fire Hack
- Citzenlab on Adfection
- Linux Group Forum
- bbtl.ink/stats for more links
Breakmaster Cylinder composed and performs our theme music.
Carson City Linux User Group – Meeting third Saturdays at ComputerCorps in Carson City – carsoncitylinux.org
One on One Tech Help at the Carson City Library Wednesdays 3-4 pm Techbusters
Unsupervised Gadgets Will Be Refurbished
This week on Battle Born Tech℠
Brian has a garage-sale laptop, a stranger’s files, and a graphic desktop theme worth keeping. Kris wonders why would anyone leave Windows for Linux? Teresa realizes that her smart speaker in the office means anyone can shop with it!
Plus: The Onion’s free voting video game (early voting in Nevada ends Friday, October 30), five ways to shoot better phone video after dark, and spyware that arrived inside an ad nobody clicked.
Oops: We said the Israeli company that revealed the ad-based spyware was the same company behind it. Not so: the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab exposed it, and Discover-Tech, the ad firm, was the one delivering it. We regret hacking the facts.
Not Only Google: The spyware ads didn’t run only on Google. Discover-Tech placed ads across tens of thousands of apps and websites through several ad networks. Google and IAB Europe, a major advertising industry group, both removed it from their approved-vendor lists in early October.
Before you hand down a used laptop, check one more thing. Many Windows laptops scramble (encrypt) the drive using a feature called device encryption or BitLocker. The unlock code, called a recovery key, is usually saved to the Microsoft account of whoever set up the laptop. Deleting the old owner’s account doesn’t move that key. If Windows ever asks for it, after a hardware change or a big update, the new owner can’t get into the laptop.
How to check: Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Device encryption. On Windows Pro, you can also check Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption. If encryption is on, turn it off and back on while signed in as the new owner with their own Microsoft account. That saves a fresh key to their account.
Or check from a command line. Run this in Command Prompt as administrator (right-click Command Prompt, choose “Run as administrator”):
manage-bde -status C:“Protection On” means the drive is encrypted.
Early voting in Nevada ends Friday, October 30, which is also Nevada Day, so check hours before you go. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
- Carson City early voting and Election Day locations
- Polling locations for every Nevada county (spreadsheet)
WEBPAGE SPECIAL: Claude updated the Windows 95 Desktop Theme for It’s a Wonderful Life for Windows 11. Untested your milage may vary. Be careful out there.
It's A Wonderful Life – Windows 11 Theme Package
Night-shooting tips adapted from The Mobile Filmmaker (Issue #018, October 27, 2026), David Basulto’s newsletter from iOgrapher: https://www.iographer.com
We are often in the studio Saturdays 9 am to 11 am and Sundays 7 pm to 9 pm Pacific. Have your smart phone or speaker remind you to call! Call direct to studio then or anytime at 775-241-3571 and set up a time to battle your tech!
“Thanks for reusing old tech and may the force be with you.”
“downloads…update all your apps from the Windows Store”
“Maybe go find a cassette player. I don’t think they’ve hacked those yet.”
“Your computer’s yours. You’re not just borrowing it from Microsoft for a while.”
“Make sure your data is cleared when you pass along your tech, no matter what it is.”
“Watch out what devices have your credit card, and lock them down.”
“If you had to boil it down, why do people change? They’re just sick of it.”
“I had one with movie clips for every Windows action. It’s like watching the movie when you’re trying to work”
“You want to watch who gives permission to buy things, because it may not be you, and then you get the bill.”
“The best rig is putting your elbows up against your body.”
“Not one for the grandkids, but hey, you’re supposed to be old enough to vote, right?”
AI assisted to make us sound more human.
Battle Born Tech℠,
where the Wi-Fi is strong,
the fonts are good-looking, and the passwords are above average.
BATTLE PLANS
with help from Claude.ai
Expired Certifications
Digital ID cards built into your computer that let it confirm the software starting it up is genuine (a feature called Secure Boot). Microsoft’s original 2011 certificates expired between June and October 2026. Windows Update installs the replacements on most PCs; you can check under Windows Security > Device security > Secure Boot.
Snow Socks
Fabric covers that slip over your tires for grip on snow and ice, a lighter, easier alternative to metal chains.
Nevada Day Parade
Carson City’s annual celebration of Nevada becoming a state on October 31, 1864, the event that gave us the “Battle Born” nickname. This year’s parade is Saturday, October 31, at 10 AM, along Carson Street downtown.
The Onion
A satirical newspaper that writes fake news stories as jokes, published since 1988. If a quote sounds too absurd to be true, check whether it came from The Onion.
Administrator
A user with permission to change anything on the computer, including adding or removing other users. A standard user can use the computer but can’t make system-wide changes.
User Account
Each person’s separate space on a Windows computer: their files, settings, and desktop.
PIN
Personal Identification Number. A code to prevent unauthorize access to an account or lock. Please not 1234 or 1111.
AdFection
Zero-click spyware delivered via targeted ads. Coined by The Citizen Lab an interdisciplinary research unit at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.
Desktop Theme
A bundle of wallpaper, colors, sounds, and sometimes mouse pointers that changes how Windows looks and sounds.
Factory Reset
wiping Windows back to a fresh start, removing all accounts and optionally all personal files.
Microsoft Store
Windows’ built-in app store, where themes, apps, and app updates live.
Linux
a free operating system, the core software that runs a computer, used instead of Windows or macOS. Comes in Distributions (distros): a complete, ready-to-use version of Linux. Linux Mint is a popular, beginner-friendly one.
Live USB
a prepared USB stick you start the computer from to run Linux without installing it or changing what’s on the drive.
Agentic AI
AI that takes actions on your behalf, like booking a trip or shopping and buying items, answering your phone, not just answering questions or writing reports (Generative AI)
Targeted Advertising
ads aimed at you specifically, based on data collected about you and your device.
Steam
A free app that works like a combination game store and game shelf for your computer. You make a free account, then use Steam to buy or download games (many are free), and it installs them, keeps them updated, and launches them for you. It’s run by the game company Valve and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
We are often in the studio Saturdays 9 am to 11 am and Sundays 7 pm to 9 pm Pacific. Have your smart phone or speaker remind you to call! Call direct to studio then or anytime at 775-241-3571 and set up a time to battle your tech!
Tuesdays 8 PM Pacific 95.1 FM Carson City, Nevada
Streaming LIVE on at KNVC.ORG
Battle Born Tech℠ is a
Registered Service Mark of Christy Ramsey
