Being in the Microsoft Windows insider program will let you get a hands-on new Windows 11, but some people just want Windows 11 without being in the insider program.
Well, people beware! It was detected that some groups have been releasing fake Windows 11 installers with malware into them.
There’s one malicious file called 86307_windows 11 builds 21996.1 x64 + activator.exe. Based on the filename, one might guess that it includes Windows 11 build 21996.1, and on top of that, there’s something in it that will automatically activate Windows for you. It comes in at 1.75GB, so for some people, that might seem reasonable. It starts out looking like a normal installer, and then there’s a second installer that calls itself a download manager. If you accept the nonsense agreement that’s included, you get a bunch of malware.
This is just one example of malicious installers running amok internet, but there are more of them with different software placed inside. Malware can be anything from adware to a Trojan virus. The adware usually isn’t super dangerous. It’s just malware that’s meant to inject your PC with advertisements. Viruses can be more of an issue, and they can be harder to get rid of if your machine is infected.
Windows Defender does a good job of getting rid of this stuff. The only problem is that if you’re downloading Windows 11 from shady sources, you’re probably already set to click through the dozen or so warnings that pop up telling you not to install it.
The solution will be to get Windows from a trusted source of roll inside the insider program and get it from Microsoft directly.
Mscomctl.ocx is a Microsoft library Windows Common Controls file. The Mscomctl.ocx error occurs when this file is either lost or gets corrupt.
The error is displayed on the screen when the user tries to run a program that is dependent on this file. It appears as:
“Component 'MSCOMCTL.OCX' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid”
Solution
Download Available to Completely Repair the Error Mscomctl.ocx
Error Causes
Installing and then uninstalling a large number of applications on the Windows operating system often corrupts or unregisters the Mscomctl.ocx library.
This message will continue to appear on the screen until you re-register the library file again on your system.
Further Information and Manual Repair
You don’t need to have the sound technical knowledge or call a professional to resolve Mscomctl.ocx error on your PC. The Mscomctl.ocx error is easy to repair and can be fixed in a couple of minutes.
Here are 2 solutions to repair the Mscomctl ocx error code on your system:
Cause: Error occurs because the Mscomctl ocx file is unregistered
Solution:
Go to the start menu and type ‘Mscomctl.oxc and press enter
Copy the ‘Mscomctl.ocx’ file and paste it in "C:WindowsSystem32" folder
Now click the start menu again and type ‘CMD’ in the search box. This will open your computer's command prompt.
Once this opens, type either of the following commands and then press enter. If you have a 64-bit operating system, then type: Regsvr32 "C:WindowsSysWOW64MSCOMCTL.OCX” and if you have 32-bit operating system, then you should type ‘Regsvr32 "C:WindowsSystem32MSCOMCTL.OCX"
By doing this, you will be able to register the Mscomctl.ocx file on your PC and then you will no longer receive Mscomctl.ocx error code.
Cause: Error code occurs because the Mscomctl.ocx file is missing
Solution:
First search for MScomctl ocx on your local drive to see if it is missing.
If the file is missing, then download the MScomctl.exe file from a reliable website.
Now extract the file to your C:WINDOWSsystem32 directory
Then click start and run.
Now type ‘REGSVR32 MSCOMCTL.OCX’ and press enter
Please note to implement any of the two solutions stated above, you will need administrator rights. If you have the administrator rights then only can you make the above registry changes.
Therefore to make the following changes you will have to access the PC using the Administrator account.
Simply follow the instructions given above to repair this error code problem right away!
In any Windows operating system, Safe Mode is definitely a special environment used for troubleshooting issues as well as system diagnostics. Safe Mode allows you to remove any malware in your computer and troubleshoot issues that can’t be fixed when you’re in desktop mode. This is why Microsoft made sure that the Safe Mode option is not available directly and can only be accessed by pressing function keys such as F2, F8 (depends on what PC you are using) or via MSConfig. To make it easier for you to access Safe Mode, this post will guide you on how you can add Safe Mode to the Boot Menu options in Windows 10.
As you know, Windows 10 now has Advanced Startup options that allow you to boot directly into Safe Mode without having to restart your PC and then tapping the special key a couple of times. However, if you really have to always use Safe Mode, it’s best to add it in the Boot Menu options. To do that, simply follow the steps below.
Select Command Prompt (Admin) option from the WinX menu to open Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
After opening Command Prompt, type the bcdedit /copy {current} /d "Safe Mode" command and hit Enter.
Once the command is executed, you will see a message saying, “The entry was successfully copied to {74a93982-9486-11e8-99df-00270e0f0e59}”. This message indicates that Safe Mode was successfully added in the Boot menu option which means that you can now directly access it and boot your Windows 10 PC in that mode.
To check if Safe Mode was really added in the Boot menu options, you have to open Msconfig. From there, you will also have to use it to configure the boot settings for the Safe Mode entry. To do so, follow the given steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “MSConfig” in the field and click OK.
Next, go to the Boot tab and find the Safe Mode option which should be located under the default Windows 10 mode.
Afterward, you need to select the Sage boot option and Minimal. You also have to select the Make all boot settings permanent option.
Make sure to increase the timeout to at least 10 seconds which will ensure that the menu does not disappear right away.
Note: In similar steps as above, you can add the Safe Mode with Networking and Safe Mode with Command Prompt entries as well. Just simply select “Network” for Safe Mode with Networking and “Alternate Shell” for Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Once you’re done adding any of them, click on Apply and restart your PC. In addition, if you wish to remove the entry, you just have to open MSConfig again and select the entry you want to remove, and then click Delete.
If your Windows 10 computer is downloading or installing updates but suddenly an error pops up saying, “GWXUX has stopped working”, read on as this post will show you what you can do to resolve the problem. GWXUX is a process responsible for downloading and installing Windows updates and is installed on your computer via Windows Updates. That particular update is known as “KB3035583”. Through this process, the “Get Windows 10” pop-ups are installed and initiated by Microsoft. This process is also capable of checking the compatibility of your PC to run Windows 10 as well as preparing it for installation. However, this process might also result in excessive usage of Disk and sometimes, CPU. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can fix the issue with the GWXUX. Follow the instructions given below carefully.
Option 1 – Disable GWXUX in the Task Scheduler
You will have to disable the gwxux.exe process to run from the Task Scheduler. Thus, you need to follow the steps below to do so.
Open the Cortana Search box and then type “task scheduler” in the field.
Then click on Task Scheduler from the related search results that appear to open it.
After opening the Task Scheduler, navigate to Microsoft > Windows > Setup > gwx on the left panel from the Task Scheduler Library.
Once you select the GWX folder, you will see two tasks that are listed under that folder. Select both of these tasks and permanently disable them.
Restart your computer to apply the changes made and check if the issue is now fixed or not.
Option 2 – Uninstall the KB3035583 Windows Update
To uninstall the KB3035583 Windows Update, you need to go to Control Panel, and for you to do that, type “control panel” in the Cortana Search box.
After that, click on Control Panel from the related search results given.
Once Control Panel is pulled up, search for “View Installed Updates” in the search field from the top right part of the window.
Next, click on a link labeled, “View Installed Updates” under the Programs and Features menu.
After clicking the link, you will see the list of all the installed updates in your computer from the Windows Updates.
Now look for an update named “KB3035583” and select it.
You should notice the Uninstall button located at the top portion of the sub-menu ribbon as you can see on the snippet below. Click on that button to uninstall the KB3035583 Windows Update.
After uninstalling the update, make sure to restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Option 3 – Try using the System File Checker
System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files with good system files that might be causing the error 0x80200056. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
After running the System File Checker, restart your computer and check if the error with the GWXUX.exe file is now fixed or not.
Hive ransomware has been targeting Microsoft exchange servers lately vulnerable to ProxyShell security issues in order to deploy various backdoors. Once the backdoor has been placed various attacks can be performed including but not limited to network reconnaissance, stealing admin accounts, taking valuable data, and even installing and deploying file-encrypting algorithms.
ProxyShell wide abuse
ProxyShell is a set of three vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Exchange Server that allows remote code execution without authentication on vulnerable deployments. The flaw has been used in past by various ransomware like Conti, BlackByte, Babuk, Cuba, and LockFile.
Security vulnerabilities have been reported to be fully patched on May 2021 but how Hive was able to still be successful in exploiting PowerShell and infiltrating into the system there seems to be still some unpatched and open issues.
Hive
Hive has gone a long way since it was first observed in the wild back in June 2021, having a successful start that prompted the FBI to release a dedicated report on its tactics and indicators of compromise.
In October 2021, the Hive gang added Linux and FreeBSD variants, and in December it became one of the most active ransomware operations in attack frequency.
Last month, researchers at Sentinel Labs reported on a new payload-hiding obfuscation method employed by Hive, which indicates active development.
Recently, several users reported an issue on their Windows 10 computers where the taskbar is not visible when they tried to connect to a computer via Remote Desktop Protocol or RDP. The Remote Desktop Connection feature uses the RDP which allows users to access a computer remotely. This is actually different from the taskbar being hidden automatically until the pointer hovers on it since, in this scenario, the taskbar is completely not accessible which makes using the remote computer entirely difficult, if not impossible.
There are several suggestions you can check out to resolve this problem, you can try to restart the process of Windows Explorer via Task Manager or you could clear the cache for multiple processes. You could also try to reinstall the Shell Experience components or show the local taskbar in the Remote desktop. Moreover, you could also try to update, uninstall or roll back the display driver/graphics card driver. For more details, refer to each one of the options given below.
Option 1 – Try to restart the Windows Explorer process
The first option you have to try to fix the problem with the taskbar is to simply restart the Windows Explorer process in the Task Manager.
Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
Next, go to the Processes tab and find the process of Windows Explorer.
Once you find it, right-click on it and select Restart to restart its process.
After that, restart your computer and see if you can now see the Taskbar.
Option 2 – Try clearing the cache of multiple processes
The next thing you can do to resolve the problem is to clear the cache of many processes in your computer. To do so, follow these steps:
Open the Notepad app and paste the following content in the text area:
After that, tap the Ctrl + S keys to save the changes you’ve made in Notepad and select the “All files” as its file type, and then name it “CacheClearTWC.bat”.
Next, go to the location where you saved the file using File Explorer and then run it. This will run a couple of batch scripts which will clear the cache of multiple processes in the system.
Tap the Win + X keys and select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option to open PowerShell as admin.
Next, execute this command in the command line: Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “appxmetadataappxbundlemanifest.xml”)}
After the command has been executed, this will reinstall the Shell Experience components and should fix the problem with the taskbar.
Option 4 – Update, uninstall or rollback the Graphics card drivers
First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
Type in MSC into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. From there, look for the Display Adapters and click on them.
After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters and select the “Uninstall Device” option from the menu.
Now restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.
Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it.
While browsing the internet, if you suddenly encounter a warning with an error message saying, “Server certificate has been revoked ERR CERT REVOKED” then it indicates that the SSL certificate used by the website has been revoked by its issuer. This kind of problem can only be fixed by the website owner but that does not mean that you can’t do anything about it. In fact, you have the option to bypass this error as well as contact the certificate issuer – all this and more.
Just a reminder, if a website that accepts payment, its passwords don’t have SSL or has some certification issue, you should never trust it. For instance, if you are trying to purchase something online and you’re on the payment stage but you encounter the “Server certificate has been revoked ERR CERT REVOKED” error, you must not proceed.
To resolve the “Server certificate has been revoked ERR CERT REVOKED” error, here are some things you can do.
Option 1 – Try contacting the Certificate Issuer
If you are the website owner, of course, the best thing you can is to get in touch with the Certificate Issuer in order to resolve the problem.
Option 2 – Try fixing the Date and Time
You have to check your computer’s Date and Time. There are cases when this simple setting causes a connection problem. So if your computer Date and Time is set to date or time that this after the certificate expiration date, then you have to make sure that you set it to automatically configure time. To do so, just open Settings > Time and Language. From there, turn on the toggle for “Set time automatically” and “Set time zone automatically” options. After that, check if it fixes the error, if not, you need to check if the manual selection is correctly set or not.
Option 3 – Bypass the Certificate Revocation Check
As pointed out earlier, you have the option to bypass the Certificate Revocation check. All you have to do is follow the steps below.
In the search box of your browser, type “internet options” and open it once it appears.
After that, go to the Advanced tab and navigate to the Security subheading.
Next, uncheck the “Check for publisher’s certificate revocation” option as well as the “Check for server certificate revocation” option.
Now restart your computer. Upon the next startup, try opening the website again. This time, your browser will stop checking it for certificate issues. However, it’s not safe to leave those options unchecked so make sure that once the website’s SSL certificate is fixed or once you no longer have to visit that website, you recheck those options.
Microsoft office has set itself as one of the most used and best suites for business use and MS Word as the most widely used word processor. But how even best are not immune to some small bugs and unexpected behaviors so is not Word. Word has stopped working is probably know to a wide audience of its users, I think I could safely say that each Word user has experienced this error at least once, luckily the error is not anything to worry about since it is an easily fixable issue.
Try automated solutions
There are some fully automated solutions that could fix any PC issues, some are available in free versions. If you prefer to do things manually however keep on reading and follow the instructions below.
Manual FIXES:
Update MS Word
Make sure that you are running the latest build of Word in order to eliminate all bugs and to have a smooth running experience. Go to File > Account > Product Information > Update Options and click Enable Update and then select Update Now.
Check the file
Corrupted files can cause this crash and this error, try opening another text file inside the Word to eliminate file corruption.
Run Word in safe mode and disable add-ins
Did you know that MS Word has a safe mode like Windows? In this safe mode, Word will boot up just the application without any add-ins installed and in this environment, you can start one add-in by one to see which one is causing the issue.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog
Inside run dialog type in winword /safe followed by ENTER to run Word in safe mode
If MS Word works fine in Safe mode, disable all COM Add-ins (while being in safe mode) and restart Word. Re-enable the add-ins one at a time to identify the problematic one.
Click on File and then on Options
Click on Add-Ins from the options list
Select COM Add-ins from the drop-down menu and click on Go
Uncheck all the add-ins and click OK to confirm
Close the Dialog Box and MS Word. Now try running MS Word normally and see if it works
Repeat steps to enable the add-ins, one at a time, and check which add-in is causing this error
Repair Word installation
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog
In run dialog type in control panel and press ENTER
Inside Control Panel click on Programs and Features
Locate and click on Microsoft Office to select it
Once selected click on change located on top of the application list
Once Office Windows loads click on Repair
Wait for the process to finish
Reinstall MS office
If all the previous solutions failed next step would be to completely uninstall MS Office and install it again once the old one has been completely removed from the system.
Go to the control panel as explained in the previous step and select Office
Instead of Change this time click on uninstall and follow on-screen instructions
Once uninstall is finished, install a new copy of MS Office.
Error code C1900107 is associated with an issue with upgrading to Windows 10. If you are trying to upgrade your Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, you might have trouble doing it and you might come across this error C1900107. The error prevents you from upgrading to Windows 10 no matter what you do.
Common symptoms of this error:
The update process continues for a long time and never ends.
The update process ends suddenly and a message says “Failed: 1 update. Errors found: Code C1900107. Windows Update encountered an unknown error.”
The update process fails after trying multiple times.
Solution
Error Causes
Following reasons may be responsible for this error:
There is not enough space for Windows 10 files in the primary drive
There is not enough space in System Reserved Partition
Windows 10 files are faulty or corrupt
More Information and Manual Repair
Method 1:
Clean boot Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:
Whenever you get some unexpected behavior on your Windows 8, the first thing you should do is try to resolve the issue by taking a diagnostic approach. Plenty of factors can be the cause for issues like slowdowns, BSODs, computer freezes, sudden reboots, etc. The best way to detect the problem is to perform a clean boot. Using a clean boot, you can find out if the Operating System is damaged by some third-party app or bad driver. You can exclude the influence of these factors and prevent them from loading.
You should do 2 things before you proceed with the clean boot.
First, check if any third-party application is causing the problem. If you disable all third-party apps from startup, it will help eliminate software conflicts.
Press the Windows + R on the keyboard. The Run dialog box will pop up.
Type MSConfig in the dialog box and click "OK".
The System Configuration utility will appear on the screen.
On the services tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then tap or click Disable all.
On the startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click Open Task Manager.
On the startup tab in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then click Disable.
On the startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click OK, and then restart the computer.
Now, close MSConfig.
Method 2:
The second step is a Safe boot. Follow the steps below for a safe boot:
Press Win + R shortcut keys on your keyboard. The Run dialog will appear on the screen. Type MSConfig and press Enter.
The 'System Configuration' application will appear on the screen.
Switch to the 'Boot' tab, select your Windows 8.1 entry and tick the 'Safe mode' checkbox.
Reboot your PC to enter the Safe mode of Windows 8.1.
After you finish troubleshooting in Safe Mode, run MSConfig again from Safe Mode and uncheck the checkbox from step 2.
Method 3:
For this method, you will need to find the $Windows.~BT Folder in your primary drive which is C:. This folder might contain corrupt files which are preventing you from installing Windows 10. The folder is hidden and we need to unhide it. Follow the steps below:
Open File Explorer or alternatively double click on This PC or My Computer.
Now from the top option click on View, The Check the Box that says Hidden items.
Now you will be able to see hidden files and folders. Navigate to C:$Windows.~BT and Rename the folder to something like $Windows.~BT1.
Now, try downloading Windows 10 again. The installation process should go through this time without any errors like code C1900107.
Method 4:
If the above methods fail, try this method:
Go to C:\Windows\Software Distribution\Download. Now delete all the files from this download folder. Remember, do not delete the folder itself, and just delete the files.
Now, delete the $Windows.~BT Folder. This might ask you for administrator permission. Simply click yes.
Now try to install or upgrade to Windows 10. This method should work fine and there should be no error code C1900107.
If you do not possess the technical expertise required to accomplish this yourself or do not feel comfortable doing so, download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.
In today's modern world many households have internet access, most of the connection nowadays is done via Wi-Fi or wireless but there is a high probability that you have also a few devices connected via cable. There are of course many disadvantages and advantages between cable connection and wireless connection.
The main advantages of a hard cable connection are of course faster speed and stability compared to Wi-Fi. But if we look into the cables themselves there is also a big difference between them. Not all cables are the same and quality as well as speed vary a lot between them. Choosing the right cable is essential in order to make a maximum of your internet and we have some great tips and explanations of what cables do so you can make the right choice and enjoy your full internet potential.
Not all cables are the same
Cheap cables and expensive ones are not the same no matter what everyone tells you. The old proverb you get what you pay is true and more expensive cables will be made from better materials and will have a higher transfer rate.
Quality network cables are separated into different categories with proper markings and when buying one you should always look for these markings on the cables themselves, do not buy cables that do not have markings since they will often provide lower transfer rates or will not be shielded from outside influences resulting in packet drops and instability in a network.
Categories and what they mean are:
Cat-5 with a maximum speed of 100Mbps, typically unshielded.
Cat-5e with a maximum speed of 1Gbps, available in both shielded and unshielded varieties.
Cat-6 with a maximum speed of 10Gbps for runs under 55 meters (around 180ft), available in both shielded and unshielded varieties.
Cat-6a with a maximum speed of 10Gbps, shielded.
Cat-7 uses a proprietary GG45 connector rather than the standard RJ-45 connector seen on other cables for speeds of 10Gbps, shielded.
Cat-8 with a maximum speed of 25Gbps (Cat-8.1) or 40Gbps (Cat-8.2) at a distance of around 30 meters (around 100ft), shielded.
Unless stated, these standards are typically rated at their quoted speeds for a run of around 100 meters (around 330 ft) and use a standard RJ-45 Ethernet connector. Each generation of cable is designed to be compatible with the generations that came before it, so it’s possible (for example) to use a Cat-6a cable with a router that only supports speeds of 1Gbps.
Shielded cables
When purchasing higher quality cable you might not be able to choose if you have shielding or not since some standards like Cat-6a, Cat-7, and Cat-8 are always shielded. But if you do not have the need for these and you are satisfied with Cat-5e for example you can choose.
Shielded cables are a little more expensive but they will provide you with a coating that will eliminate interference from outside waves making cables more reliable. Of course, if the cable will go through a room that does not have many radio waves or some other interferences then buying a shielded cable is a waste of money.
Cable platings
Usually, there are two types of connector platings on connectors, silver, and gold, and people usually think that gold is much better but there are major differences between silver and gold platings and truth to be told there is no better one, both are different and should be considered depending on your need.
Silver plating will provide you with faster speed since its conductivity is larger than gold, but gold is slower on the oxidation front so its life span is longer. On the other hand, if your cables are always connecting and disconnecting gold will be first to be scrubbed off from the surface since the gold coating is much thinner.
Overall if you would only connect cable once and have slower internet than cable capacity gold is the way to go, in another case if you would use the cable as always connecting and switching and your internet plan is the same as cable transfer capacity you might want to go with silver one.
Cable material quality
Network cables are made from copper, your standard conduction material but even here there are differences in quality and therefore the chance of pocket losses over it. More quality less loss and more stable connection and this will depend on the purity of copper that is used in the cable itself. More purity in copper, more stability, simple as that.
Conclusion
So as you can see, there are a lot of different things that will influence your pick of proper network cable but the overall best advice is to get one that will fit well into your needs and setup. pair it up with your router and your internet plan since just simply buying something that you can not use is really a waste of money.
You have the option to choose to configure the Network to Private or Public when you set it on Windows 10 PC. On the other hand, if the option to change the Network from Public to Private goes missing in Windows Settings then this post will surely help. You can find this setting under Settings > Network and Internet > Ethernet and appears when you click on it.
If you are not able to see the option to change the network profile, then you either can’t open the settings, or the option to change it has been disabled. To resolve this issue, you can either use the Registry Editor or Windows PowerShell. Refer to the options given below for more details.
Option 1 – Change the Network Profile via Registry Editor
Changing the Network Profile can be done using the Registry Editor. But before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore Point first just in case. Refer to the steps below to do so.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
After that, navigate to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionNetworkListProfiles
Now expand the Profiles key folder located in the left pane to see one or more folders.
Next, expand each one of these folders and look for the “Description” sub-key which should match the name of your network.
After you find the Description sub-key, look for another sub-key named “Category” and double click on it to open it.
Now change its value from “0” to “1” to change the Network Profile from Public to Private.
Option 2 – Change the Network Profile via Windows PowerShell
Aside from the Windows Registry, you can also use Windows PowerShell in changing the Network Profile from Public to Private and so on. Take note that you have to use PowerShell with admin privileges. Just refer to the steps below to do so.
Tap the Win + X keys and then select the “PowerShell (Admin)” option.
Next, click on Yes if the User Account Control prompt appears.
After that, execute the commands listed below. Hit Enter right after you key in each one of them.
Error Causes
