BRADENWORKSTECH Subscribe

Tech

Fresh headlines, security, scripts, and honest gear talk — from a working IT pro.

OCT 4, 2026

Linux

Linux 7.4 lands with first Apple M4 device trees

The kernel now knows how to find components on M4 Macs and the MacBook Neo — boots to console for now, no GPU yet, but mainline is on the way.

Pasquale Pillitteri (via Phoronix) · Oct 4

OCT 3, 2026

Nvidia

Nvidia market value tops $5.7 trillion on AI chip demand

Shares hit an intraday peak of $237.88 on Oct 2, pushing Nvidia past $5.7T — a level no public company had ever reached. Investors piled into AI stocks as a safe haven after a weak September jobs report.

Tamara News · Oct 3

OCT 3, 2026

Apple

iPhone 17 Pro Max boosts AI prefill 44%

A developer split a 27B-parameter model across an iPhone 17 Pro Max and an M4 Pro MacBook over USB-C — prefill speeds up 44%.

Wisevoter · Oct 3

OCT 3, 2026

Nvidia

Amazon's $8B Nvidia chip financing plan

Amazon is exploring moving ~$8B of Grace Blackwell chips into an investor-funded vehicle and leasing them back — AI hardware as financeable infrastructure.

Tower Post (via Reuters/FT) · Oct 3

OCT 3, 2026

Nvidia

DGX Spark 64GB lands Oct 23 at $4,999

Half the unified memory of the original, same GB10 platform — rated for ~100B-parameter models locally. Ships through OEM partners, no Founders Edition.

ThePCEnthusiast · Oct 3

OCT 2, 2026

Nvidia

RTX Spark arrives at $2,899 with 128GB RAM

Nvidia's first self-branded Windows PC processor — co-developed with MediaTek — lands in October laptops and mini desktops.

Tech Insider · Oct 2

OCT 2, 2026

Elon Musk

Musk teases Nvidia AI milestone at SpaceX

Musk says SpaceX is "cautiously optimistic" it can run Nvidia's VR72 AI system near 250kW average power — up to 25% above typical industry figures.

Stocktwits · Oct 2

OCT 2, 2026

Nvidia

64GB DGX Spark at $4,999

A cheaper 64GB version of Nvidia's desktop AI supercomputer — half the memory of the original — shipping in the U.S. October 23 through six OEM partners.

NeoTeo · Oct 2

OCT 2, 2026

Flock cameras

11 mystery cameras watched Florida drivers

No known owner. Surfaced as DeSantis ordered Flock cameras off state highways and an officer was arrested for 382 unauthorized database lookups.

Fast Company · Oct 2

OCT 2, 2026

Security

KB Kookmin Bank hit in AI-powered breach

South Korea's KB Kookmin and Shinhan banks breached within 48 hours by hackers reportedly using AI tools — 25,000+ Shinhan customers' loan records exposed.

Nation Press · Oct 2

OCT 2, 2026

Flock cameras

Sanders bill would ban federal Flock use

Covers all license-plate readers, lets Americans sue over violations — while Flock, under pressure, cut default data retention from 30 days to 7.

TechCrunch · Oct 2

OCT 2, 2026

Nvidia

RTX Spark laptops arrive this month

Lenovo and Acer ship the first RTX Spark Windows PCs in October — 20-core Grace CPU, Blackwell GPU, up to 128GB unified memory, from $2,899.

Tech Insider · Oct 2

OCT 1, 2026

Elon Musk

SpaceXAI considers overhaul of Grok/X pricing

A unified subscription with four tiers — from a free limited plan to a $100/month "Ultra," plus a new $8/month lite plan with Grok, a checkmark, and fewer ads.

Moneyweb (via Bloomberg) · Oct 1

OCT 1, 2026

Nuclear

Oracle's nuclear deal for $15B AI campus

Oracle wants 125–250 MW from Wisconsin's Point Beach nuclear plant for its "Lighthouse Campus" with OpenAI — says it could save utility customers $300M.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel · Oct 1

OCT 1, 2026

Exploit

Attackers hit the vulnerability hunters

Two Zammad helpdesk zero-days (CVSS 9.4) chained to root the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure itself — researchers' emails stolen.

The Register · Oct 1

SEP 30, 2026

Patch now

TeamViewer issues urgent patches (all platforms)

Critical vulnerabilities in TeamViewer Full Client and Host across Windows, Linux, and macOS — including a possible access-control bypass. Update to 15.82 now.

Undercode News · Sep 30

SEP 28, 2026

Pricing

Device prices keep climbing into Q4

MCPC: budgets built on January list prices are now 15–25% short on repriced PC lines. Dell's 30-day quotes and HP's Q4 rebates (through Oct 31) are the locks to use.

MCPC · Sep 28

SEP 28, 2026

Apple

12 new things from Apple this October

Foldable iPhone Duo launches October 23 (pre-orders Oct 16), iOS 27.1/27.2 ship, and a 512GB-RAM Mac Studio config arrives late month.

MacRumors · Sep 28

SEP 26, 2026

Defender

"BigDiskBuster" zero-day blocks Defender updates

Researcher Nightmare Eclipse released a PoC that silently stops Defender from pulling platform and signature updates on all supported Windows versions.

BleepingComputer · Sep 26

SEP 9, 2026

Market

Dell shipments -8.8%, HP -3.7% in Q2

Omdia: Dell's US shipments fell hardest as component allocation moved away from entry-level; both vendors grew revenue anyway on higher prices. Full-year market forecast: -10.7%.

Business Wire (Omdia) · Sep 9

Script Library

Real scripts · plain-English instructions · zero telemetry
Every script here is free, safe to read before you run, and contains zero telemetry — no phone-home, no data collection, no network calls except to Microsoft's own update servers where noted. How to download: click a script link, then right-click → Save link as. For .ps1 files, right-click the saved file → Run with PowerShell (run as admin where noted). If Windows blocks it, run Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser once in PowerShell first.

PowerShell

System Cleanup

Frees disk space safely: temp files, Windows Update download cache, thumbnail cache, DNS flush — plus an optional Recycle Bin empty (it asks first). Shows space freed. Run as admin for the full pass.

Download: cleanup.ps1 · Win 10/11

PowerShell

Windows Update Helper

Lists available updates using Windows' own update agent, then installs only with your approval. Handles reboots politely (asks first). Must run as administrator.

Download: windows-update.ps1 · Win 10/11

Batch

Quick Cleanup

The five-minute version: temp folders, thumbnail cache, DNS flush, disk-space report, optional Recycle Bin empty. Double-click to run; right-click → admin for deeper cleaning.

Download: cleanup.bat · Win 10/11

Python

Disk Usage Scanner

Finds what's eating your disk: biggest folders and files, with percentages. 100% read-only — it never deletes anything. Standard library only, works on Windows/Mac/Linux.

Download: disk-usage.py · Python 3.6+

PSADT / SCCM

App Deployment Template Notes

Plain-English guide to wrapping installers with the PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit: the three phases, folder layout, a copy-paste skeleton, and the SCCM/Intune deployment checklist.

Download: psadt-sccm-notes.md · guide

GitHub

More on GitHub

New scripts land in the repo first. Everything published there follows the same rules: commented, safe, and telemetry-free.

github.com/askbraden

Downloads

Scripts · security tools · official sources only
Download only from the vendor's official site — never from a "free download" aggregator. Nothing here is a paid placement, ever. Antivirus installers are never hosted here; grab them from the vendor.

Cleanup & utility scripts

Full instructions for each script are in the Script Library above.

Antivirus & security tools

More picks and troubleshooting tools in the Toolbox below.

Toolbox

Antivirus · troubleshooting · daily drivers
Download only from the vendor's official site — never from a "free download" aggregator. Nothing here is a paid placement, ever.

Security & antivirus

  • Bitdefender Antivirus Free — best hands-off protection; quiet, light, top lab scores. bitdefender.com
  • Avast Free Antivirus — best free overall in 2026 testing (perfect AV-TEST score on the free build). avast.com
  • Malwarebytes Free — the second-opinion scanner; best at cleaning an already-infected PC. Run it alongside your main antivirus. malwarebytes.com
  • AVG AntiVirus Free — solid everyday free protection, clean interface. avg.com
  • Microsoft Defender — already built into Windows and switched on. If you install nothing else, make sure this is on.

Troubleshooting & repair

  • More recommendations landing soon.