About 90 litres of black oil has been observed in the creek by Environment Canterbury staff. Read...

Anyone can visit the public database and select whether they are interested in drought, rainfall, wind or temperature, which season they are interested in and whether they would like to see projections for low, medium or high greenhouse gas emissions. Read...

A couple of months ago, we reported on the PKfail vulnerability in Secure Boot — a security issue that stems from hardware manufacturers shipping devices with known compromised software. After digging deeper, the original security researchers have discovered that it’s a much bigger problem than even they had initially guessed. In case you missed the original story, here’s a quick summary: The code that gets you past Secure Boot encryption (so you can load up software in a pre-boot environment) was leaked on an open repository back in 2022. Despite that being a known issue, manufacturers continued to ship devices with compromised security. In fact, many of them shipped with pre-production warnings like “DO NOT TRUST” still in the firmware. As Ars Technica reports, the original publisher Binarly and other security researchers have found many more devices that are susceptible to the PKfail exploit. The list of vulnerable devices has ballooned to almost four times the original research, now including almost a thousand individual models of desktops, laptops, and other x86-based hardware. The original list included computers and motherboards made by some of the industry’s biggest names, including Dell, Acer, and Intel. Now that the issue is more widely known, the list is expanding to include other manufacturers like Fujitsu and Supermicro. Even boutique manufacturers like Beelink and Minisforum are susceptible. The issue seems to reach far beyond the realm of conventional hardware and Windows-based PCs. According to data from Binarly’s online detection tool, enterprise servers, point-of-sale retail machines, gaming consoles, and even ATMs have all been found to contain these publicly-available Secure Boot keys. Even some medical devices and voting machines showed up in the system. To say all this is “alarming” would be an understatement. That said, remotely exploiting Secure Boot would be a huge endeavor for a hacker, so the PKfail vulnerability is mostly relevant to anyone who might be personally targeted for data theft or surveillance. It’s much more likely to be used by, say, someone going after a multi-millionaire, or by a state-sponsored hacker group hoping to acquire government or industry secrets. Regardless, Binarly warns that the PKfail vulnerability is already being actively exploited in the wild. If you own an affected machine, the solution to PKfail is nothing less than a BIOS or UEFI update from your PC’s motherboard manufacturer. You can use Binarly’s online detection tool to see if your PC is affected. Read...

The effectiveness of Ring security cameras and video doorbells is determined by more than their image quality; it’s also about how well they detect and respond to motion. Properly configured motion settings can make the difference between a system that enhances your peace of mind and one that overwhelms you with alerts; or worse, fails to notify you of critical events. Ring’s motion settings are at the heart of this process, determining when, how, and how often you’re notified about activities around your home. Used strategically, they enable you to tailor your security system to your specific needs so that you get the most relevant alerts while minimizing unnecessary disruptions. While the Ring app makes it easy to enable and disable motion detection and alerts on your Ring device, most other motion settings require a little digging to uncover. We’ll walk you through these features, showing you where to find them in the Ring app, how to configure them effectively, and how to avoid common mistakes that could compromise your Ring experience. Don’t miss TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras. Camera Motion Zones: Monitor the areas that matter This is the first motion setting you’ll want to set, because there will be areas in the camera’s field of view–or things in its field of view, such as trees and bushes–that you’ll want to ignore. The idea is to focus monitoring on the areas that matter most to you while, reducing alerts triggered by activity you don’t care about. There are many practical applications of camera motion zones. Suppose you live on a busy street with lots of vehicle, or a sidewalk in front of your home. In these situations, you can limit your video doorbell or camera’s motion detection to your porch, the walkway leading up to it, your back patio, or your side yard without being peppered with alerts when cars drive by, pedestrians pass in front of your house, or branches sway in the breeze. Alternatively, if you’re concerned about activity around your backyard gate, you can create a zone specifically for that area that excludes motion created by your kids playing in the yard. In addition to enhancing security, Camera Motion Zones can also help ensure your monitoring doesn’t cross property boundaries. By focusing your camera’s attention on specific areas of your property, you can avoid capturing footage of neighbors’ yards or other spaces where privacy might be a concern. Camera Motion Zones let you focus on the areas you care about while ignoring the ones you don’t. Camera Motion Zones let you focus on the areas you care about while ignoring the ones you don’t. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Camera Motion Zones let you focus on the areas you care about while ignoring the ones you don’t. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Michael Ansaldo/Foundry How to add and edit Camera Motion Zones Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Motion Settings.” At the top, tap “Edit Zones” or scroll down to tap “Camera Motion Zones.” To add a new Motion Zone: tap “Add Zone,” and drag the edges of the zone to resize it. Tap “Save” when you’re done. To adjust an existing motion zone, tap the zone you want to adjust, then drag the edges of the zone. Tap “Save.” Motion Sensitivity: Finding the right balance While Camera Motion Zones help you control where your Ring device detects motion, Motion Sensitivity determines how much movement is needed to trigger an alert. It’s a crucial tool for customizing your security system to the activity level of your environment. Motion Sensitivity can be adjusted through the Ring app under the Motion Settings menu. Using a slider, you can calibrate the sensitivity level from low to high. A higher sensitivity will trigger alerts for even the smallest movements, while a lower sensitivity might only react to larger objects with more animated motion, such as people or vehicles, while ignoring small animals, such as squirrels running along the top of your fence. How you balance motion sensitivity can significantly impact both the effectiveness and usability of your Ring device. If it is set too high, you might find yourself overwhelmed with notifications for even minor movements, leading to notification fatigue. Setting it too low could mean missing important events. Motion Sensitivity balance impacts the usability and effectiveness of your Ring device. Motion Sensitivity balance impacts the usability and effectiveness of your Ring device. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Motion Sensitivity balance impacts the usability and effectiveness of your Ring device. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Michael Ansaldo/Foundry You’ll get the best results if you consider your specific environment when adjusting this setting. If your camera overlooks a bustling street, for example, you might want to lower the sensitivity to avoid being bombarded with alerts (don’t forget that you can also use zones to exclude areas such as the road in front of your house). Conversely, if your camera is focused on a secluded area, a higher sensitivity setting might be more appropriate to ensure nothing goes unnoticed. It’s important to keep in mind that Motion Sensitivity can also affect your device’s battery life. Higher sensitivity settings tend to consume more battery power, as the device is actively processing more motion events. By finding the optimal sensitivity level, you can strike a balance between thorough monitoring and efficient usage. This is less of an issue for cameras that are compatible with a solar panel that will keep your camera’s battery topped off. How to adjust Motion Sensitivity Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Motion Settings.” Under “Settings,” tap “Motion Sensitivity.” Use the slider to adjust detection sensitivity to your liking. Tap “Save.” Bird’s Eye View motion detection: See the whole picture Michael Brown/Foundry Michael Brown/Foundry Michael Brown/Foundry Bird’s Eye View is a feature of a limited number of Ring cameras and video doorbells that displays an aerial view of motion events. Using a series of dots overlaid on a satellite image of your home, it shows the path that a person moving in the camera’s field of view followed. The image is displayed in a small picture-in-picture view, overlaid on the camera’s feed, but you can tap on it to swap the smaller and larger images. The feature is based on radar motion detection, so only a few Ring products can do it; namely, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro, Wired Doorbell Pro (formerly Video Doorbell Pro 2), Floodlight Cam Wired Pro, Spotlight Cam Pro (Battery, Wired, Solar, or Plug-In), and the Stick Up Cam Pro (Battery, Plug-In, or Solar). Bird’s Eye View motion detection range is limited to 30 feet, but as with other motion settings, you can create up to three independent, irregularly shaped zones where you want Bird’s Eye View to function. To set up Bird’s Eye View Open the Ring app and select the camera you want to work with (if you have more than one) Click on the “gear” icon in the top right corner Click on Motion Settings Tap Bird’s Eye Zones Click the radio button to enable Bird’s Eye View Click the Edit Zones button and turn your mobile device into landscape mode Click the Add Zone button Customize the shape of the detection zone by dragging the green dots surrounding Click Done to finish Optional: Click the Add Zone button if you want to create up to two additional zones covering different areas Smart Alerts: Reduce notification overload Ring’s Smart Alerts feature takes motion detection to the next level by filtering out unimportant events and focusing on what you most care about. Unlike standard motion alerts that notify you of any detected movement, Smart Alerts can differentiate between people, packages, and animals, giving you more control over the notifications you receive. The specific types of Smart Alerts available to you will depend on which Ring devices you own. Package alerts, for example, are limited to Ring’s video doorbells as these are meant to be installed at the user’s front porch where deliveries are typically left. The advantage of using Smart Alerts is that it reduces the number of irrelevant notifications you receive, allowing you to focus on events that require your attention. For instance, if you’re waiting for a package delivery, you can set Smart Alerts to notify you only when a package is detected, rather than whenever someone walks by your front door. You’ll spend less time sifting through unnecessary alerts and more time responding to the pertinent ones. Smart Alerts can differentiate between people, packages, and animals, giving you more control over the notifications you receive. Smart Alerts can differentiate between people, packages, and animals, giving you more control over the notifications you receive. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Smart Alerts can differentiate between people, packages, and animals, giving you more control over the notifications you receive. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Michael Ansaldo/Foundry A few important notes. Smart Alerts requires requires a Ring Protect subscription, which currently range from $4.99/month or $49.99/year to $20/month or $200/year. It can also take a little longer to receive Smart Alerts as they require extra processing. How to enable Smart Alerts Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Motion Settings.” Tap “Smart Alerts.” Tap “Enable Feature.” Select the notification options that you want for each type of available Smart Alert. A video camera icon lets you select or de-select recording and a bell icon represents alert notifications. When you’ve adjusted your settings, tap “Done.” Motion Schedules: Automate your alerts While Ring’s motion detection features are powerful, there are times when you don’t want to be bothered with alerts. This is where Motion Schedules come into play. They allow you to define specific times when motion alerts are active, helping you avoid unnecessary notifications during certain periods. The feature allows you to set up a daily or weekly schedule, specifying when you want motion alerts to be enabled or disabled. For instance, you might want to make alerts active during the day when you’re at work, turned off when you return home in the evening, and on again when you’re asleep. Motion Schedules are particularly useful for configuring your security system around your daily routines. If you have a regular gardening service, for example, you can temporarily turn off alerts during that time slot to avoid being bombarded with notifications while they work around your property. Conversely, you can make sure that your system is fully active during hours when no one should be around, such as late at night or during vacations. Motion Schedules allow you to define specific times when motion alerts are active, helping you avoid unnecessary notifications during certain periods. Motion Schedules allow you to define specific times when motion alerts are active, helping you avoid unnecessary notifications during certain periods. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Motion Schedules allow you to define specific times when motion alerts are active, helping you avoid unnecessary notifications during certain periods. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Integrating Motion Schedules with other Ring features, like Modes or Linked Devices, can further enhance your security setup. For example, you can create a schedule that activates outdoor cameras and lights only during specific times, reducing energy consumption while maintaining security and minimizing the need for manual adjustments. How to create a Motion Schedule Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Motion Settings.” Tap “Motion Schedules.” Tap “Add Schedule.” Name your schedule (Night Time, Morning, Evening, Custom). Tap Select the time frame you’d like pause alerts (e.g. 1-6 a.m.), then tap “Continue.” Select the days of the week you want to apply the schedule to. Tap “Save.” Privacy Settings: How to create privacy zones (and why you should) While you want to be sure your home is secure, it’s equally important to respect the privacy of those around you. The Ring app helps here by allowing you to create Privacy Zones that actively block out areas you don’t want to monitor, such as a neighbor’s window, gate, or front door, or a public space such as a park. Privacy Zones are particularly important if you live in an area where houses are close together. By setting up these zones, you can avoid potential privacy disputes with neighbors and take care that your security efforts don’t infringe on others’ rights. Further, Privacy Zones can keep you from running afoul of local video surveillance laws. Some regions have strict regulations about recording public areas or private property that isn’t yours. Privacy Zones work similarly to Motion Zones—you draw zones on your camera’s live feed—but they tell your Ring device not to monitor within the zone’s boundaries. These zones will appear as blacked-out areas in your footage, ensuring that no video is is visible in those regions. Privacy Zones block out areas you don’t want to monitor, such as a neighbor’s window or a public sidewalk. Privacy Zones block out areas you don’t want to monitor, such as a neighbor’s window or a public sidewalk. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Privacy Zones block out areas you don’t want to monitor, such as a neighbor’s window or a public sidewalk. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Michael Ansaldo/Foundry How to set up a Privacy Zone Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Device Settings.” Tap “Privacy Settings.” Tap “Add Privacy Zones.” Tap plus (+) to create a new zone and drag the box to cover the area you want to be kept private. Tap “Save.” Advanced Settings: Fine-tuning your security experience For those with battery-powered Ring security cameras and video doorbells, the Advanced Settings menu offers additional customization options. These settings allow you to fine-tune how your devices detect and respond to repetitive patterns of motion. As mentioned previously, higher motion sensitivity settings and frequent notifications consume more battery power. In the Advanced Settings menu, you’ll find options that can mitigate this issue, such as Motion Verification and Motion Frequency. Motion Verification helps reduce false alerts by ensuring that only events verified as significant are recorded and notified. It’s an especially useful feature in high-traffic areas where the likelihood of false positives is higher. Motion Frequency determines how often your device checks for motion events. If battery life is a concern, you should choose a less frequent setting. However, if you want the most comprehensive coverage possible, you can set it to check for motion more frequently. Customizing these advanced options can improve your Ring system’s performance, especially in unique environments where standard settings might not suffice. For instance, if you have pets that frequently trigger motion alerts, adjusting these settings can help filter out those unnecessary notifications, leaving you with only the most relevant alerts. Adjust Motion Frequency Michael Brown/Foundry Michael Brown/Foundry Michael Brown/Foundry You can reduce battery consumption on battery-powered Ring video doorbells and cameras by adjusting how frequently the devices look for motion. Sometimes also referred to as a cooling-off period, the camera will ignore subsequent motion for a short time after it’s triggered. Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Motion Settings.” Tap “Advanced Settings.” Tap “Motion Frequency.” Choose Frequently, Regularly, or Periodically. Tap “Save.” Choose Frequently if you want no cooling-off period at all, Regularly if you want a short cooling-off period, and Periodically if you want a longer break that will make the battery last longer. But the longer the cooling-off period, the more likely it will be that the camera fails to record a clip and send you an alert. It’s a balancing act. Enable Motion Warnings Michael Brown/Foundry Michael Brown/Foundry Michael Brown/Foundry Some Ring cameras and video doorbells (see the list, below) can issue a pre-recorded message when a person enters its field of view and triggers its motion detector. The same female voice you hear when you first set up the camera will say “Hi. You are currently being recorded.” Here’s how to enable it: Open the Ring app and tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner to open the main menu Tap “Devices” and select the relevant device. Tap “Smart Responses.” Tap Motion Warnings and then toggle the radio button on the next screen. This feature is not available on battery-powered Ring devices, even battery-powered doorbells that are hardwired to low-voltage power. You’ll also need to pay for one of Ring’s subscription plans if you intend to use it. Here are the Ring products that do support it: Stick Up Cam Elite Stick Up Cam Plug-In (3rd Gen)* Indoor Cam (1st and 2nd Gen) Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam Spotlight Cam Wired Spotlight Cam Mount Spotlight Cam Plus Wired/Plug-In Floodlight Cam Floodlight Cam Wired Pro Floodlight Cam Wired Plus Ring Video Doorbell Pro Ring Wired Video Doorbell Pro (formerly Video Doorbell Pro 2) Maximizing your Ring experience Ring’s motion settings offer a wealth of options to customize your home security experience so that you get the most out of your Ring devices. Whether you’re new to Ring or a seasoned user, taking the time to explore these features can significantly improve your security setup. Experiment with different settings, adjust them based on your daily routine and don’t hesitate to make use of the more advanced options if your situation calls for it. Read...

If Windows 11 no longer works properly, you can reset the operating system, download the installation files from the Microsoft cloud, and reinstall Windows 11. You can also restore your data in the process. However, this requires a fast internet connection, as the operating system downloads all the required data from the internet. The advantages of this method are that you do not need an installation medium and can restore your data from the cloud. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Cloud recovery is generally also possible in the computer repair options, which start when Windows 11 can no longer boot completely. But you will need a cable network connection in this case, as there are no Wi-Fi drivers available in the recovery environment. However, if Windows 11 starts reasonably stable, you can also perform the recovery via Wi-Fi in the settings. Starting the restore process in Windows 11: Backup and OneDrive Before you start the process for restoring Windows 11 from the cloud, you should make a few preparations. Firstly, you should make sure that you have backed up as much data as possible that you still need after the installation. Either back up the data to a drive or to the cloud. Further reading: Best Windows backup software It makes sense to use OneDrive here, as the Microsoft cloud storage works perfectly with Windows 11 and recovery. Other cloud storage is of course also possible, but OneDrive is integrated directly into the operating system and allows you to synchronize various data and settings without having to use other apps and services. Foundry Foundry Foundry Windows 10/11 includes the Windows Backup tool. You can start it directly from the Start menu. The tool backs up the data on your PC to OneDrive. If you restore Windows 11, whether via the cloud or a local drive, you can then restore your data quickly and easily using the internal backup program. If you are not yet using the free app, you can set it up with just a few clicks before the cloud restore and back up your data to OneDrive. This makes cloud recovery much easier. This allows you to restore them to your PC, but also to other devices that you sign in to with the same Microsoft account. The tool can also back up your settings in Windows 11 and apply them after a restore. This not only allows you to restore your PC from the cloud, but also to restore your data and settings. Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Before you restore Windows 11 from the cloud, you should run the backup once so that you can restore all data later. In general, it doesn’t hurt to synchronize your data with OneDrive using Windows 11. This means that the data for which you have activated synchronization is available in the cloud. If you log in again with your Microsoft account after restoring Windows 11, the synchronized data will also be available. Therefore, if you use OneDrive in Windows 11 in conjunction with Windows Backup, all your data is collected in one central location and can therefore be accessed and restored anywhere. Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Document drivers and applications Before you restore Windows 11, you should check the drivers used. This ensures that if drivers are missing from the Windows 11 installation, you can download the latest drivers yourself from the device manufacturer. To do this, open the device manager with “devmgmt.msc” in the search field of the taskbar. Make a note of the exact type of graphics adapter, network adapter, and other special devices such as cameras, scanners, or printers. This will make it easier for you to update the drivers later if necessary. Foundry Foundry Foundry You should do the same with the installed applications. Call up “appwiz.cpl” to display a list of all installed applications. Make sure that you have the installation files of the programs you want to continue using in the event of a complete restore. Foundry Foundry Foundry If you perform the restore in such a way that apps and data are retained, you do not need to reinstall anything. For a complete reinstallation, however, you will need all installation files. Resetting Windows 11 and restoring from the cloud In the Windows 11 settings, go to System > Recovery. Then click on “Reset PC.” At this point, you can either select “Keep my files” or “Remove all.” If the restore does not work with “Keep my files,” you can start the process again with “Remove all.” If you have backed up your data in the cloud using Windows Backup and synchronized your data with OneDrive at the same time, Windows 11 can restore the data from the cloud at any time. Foundry Foundry Foundry On the next page of the wizard, select “Cloud Download” if you want to ensure that Windows is completely restored with new installation files from the cloud. You will then receive a summary of the data entered so far, which you confirm with “Next.” However, you can cancel the process at any time without consequences. Foundry Foundry Foundry The installation wizard then prepares a few more things and finally starts the reset. You must confirm this with the “Reset” button. The wizard then starts downloading the necessary files, resets Windows 11 completely, and allows you to set it up again. Once you confirm the process, it can no longer be cancelled. If you log in after the reset with the same Microsoft account that you used to back up Windows and set up OneDrive synchronization, all your data will be available again. However, you can also just log in to the Windows backup app with the Microsoft account to restore. Check the device manager to see if any drivers are missing and download them. The documentation created for the installed drivers will help you do this. If you have removed everything, you will need to reinstall the applications you need. It is therefore advisable to ensure in advance that you have the installation files for the applications. Documentation is therefore also useful here before a reset. Further reading: 18 tweaks that give Windows 11 a personalized feel Completion of the cloud restore As soon as Windows 11 has been restored from the cloud, you should ideally log in again with the same Microsoft account. Then make sure that OneDrive is started and you are logged in with the Microsoft account. Synchronization will then start. You can also restore your data and settings from the Windows Backup app after starting the app. You can find the settings for this under Account > Windows Backup. Of course, you can also restore using other tools and cloud storage. The advantage of using Windows Backup and OneDrive is that both solutions are firmly integrated into the operating system, which makes restoring and synchronization much faster. Further reading: The best cloud backup services Read...

The proposed biocontrol agents Environment Southland are looking to introduce would help contain chilean flame creeper and darwin’s barberry. Read...

A forever language still needs to be fought for, especially in the current environment where the government has moved to minimise the official use of te reo. Read...

Esteemed Taranaki philanthropist Dr George Mason, who eschewed fancy cars to instead donate millions to education, arts and the environment, has died. Read...

If there were 50 ways to please the environment, one of the first might be to hop on a bus in Taranaki on Friday. Read...

Environment officials tried to warn Cabinet the move risked blowing NZ`s climate targets - but were told they were too late. Read...