Portable small Bluetooth speakers are nothing new on the market, most of the time they have given the opportunity for music listening during picnics and walks in nature and also replaced some car speaker systems. The latest star in small portable speakers in JBL Clip 4, small in size, waterproof, and with an incredible high-quality sound.
Performance and quality
Out of the box and after first look speaker looks great, it has excellent design and is very intuitive to work with. Everything is laid out logically and you can start using it right away without reading instructions.
The sound quality is surprisingly very good and clear. I must say I have not expected this clarity and power from a speaker of this size. The volume range is also incredibly good and will fill most needs even on small picnics outdoors where you can hear it loud enough. One thing to mention is that even on their loudness levels sound is still clear without distortion which, to be honest, is to be expected from someone like JBL.
Where you can take JBL Clip 4
You can take it where ever you want, Its size and clip make it perfect for beach and pool trips. Speaker is waterproof and gas IP67 rating, meaning that sand and dirt will not affect it either. Do not take this speaker to your diving adventures since that will break it but a depth around 1 meter underwater should be safe. After your trip do not forget to wash Clip 4 with clean water so all dirt, salt, and other stuff are properly cleaned for longer life of the device.
How long it will play?
JBL claims that the battery will last 10 hours of continuous play. Note that this is meant probably on the largest volume setting so when you use it on lower settings battery is lasting longer. Playing of course on low volumes will extend playback time even longer but here we come at one feature that I do not like, there is no indication of any kind how much battery is left in the speaker, the only indication is a red light when the battery is almost empty which means you could be outside at that point and did not know that low battery was there in the first place when you were packing. Some battery indication would be a great addon.
More stability for JBL Clip 4
The clip itself has been improved from the previous Clip 3 model, it is wider, it goes all the way around the casing, and feels overall better and more stable. Since the clip is now all around casing this means a wider opening can be made making it fit around stuff Clip 3 was not able to.
Conclusion
All in all, Clip 4 is an incredible speaker and one that would highly recommend, the price goes around 79 USD but it can be found even as low as 50 USD on discounts and promotions and if you manage to get one at that price it is a great buy. Sound is good, portability is great, dirt and waterproof are excellent and battery life is really good.
When it comes to computer peripherals first thing that comes to people's minds is probably Mouse and Keyboard. Also when discussing peripherals brands, Razer is not a stranger and over the years it has built its name and cult following.
Razer’s mechanical keyboards have been always in the upper field of quality and trust from users and Huntsman is no different.
Tech specifics of Huntsman keyboard
Mechanical optical switches
Razer has introduced their new optical technology switch with this keyboard. These switches are faster and more accurate than typical mechanical switches and if tests are to be believed this is the fastest keyboard currently on the market.
Multi-functional digital dial
A multi-function digital dial with three tactile media keys gives you instant access to everything from brightness to volume in seconds. All programmable and customizable through Synapse 3, so you can set your preferred configurations right at your fingertips.
10-key rollover
Anti-ghosting technology that enables 10-key simultaneous presses at the same time
4-side underglow with Razer chroma
Go crazy and personalize lighting effects any way you want with a full 4-side underglow and 38 customization zones. Powered by Razer Chroma
Feel and noise
In the department of noise, well it is the mechanical keyboard so naturally, it will be louder than membrane ones but in terms of comparing it to other mechanical keyboards it is within the same noise range, maybe just a tiny bit silenced.
The keyboard comes with 2 different types of switches, purple clicky ones that are louder and have that *click* sound for sound feedback, and red ones, that are not equipped with clicky sound but are linear providing slightly faster performance.
If you choose the Huntsman elite model of the keyboard it will come with a nice hand resting mat that is very comfortable and feels right. Using a keyboard feels like using a Razer keyboard, it is responsive and gives that superior mechanical feeling.
Conclusion
Razer Huntsman mechanical keyboard is not the cheapest nor the best on the market but it is the fastest one out. It is in the top tier of keyboards and worth the investment.
Spying via some malicious app on the target phone is not a new thing but it can be very uncomfortable and even against the law in some countries.
Infecting the target phone can be done in various ways, another person can intentionally download and install applications on it, and you can install them via some phishing attacks or by an online scam. Once installed this piece of software presents a very serious invasion of privacy since it can track text messages, track phone location in real-time, record calls in real-time, eavesdrop on calls, take control of the camera and microphone, and many other applications.
Here are some common symptoms of mobile phones infected with spyware.
Symptoms of spyware
Random reboots Slow performance Strange text messages Overheating Unusual high data usage Non-familiar apps in the app list The fast drain of the battery Long shutdown time Strange interference and sounds during calls Signs of activity during standby mode
If your phone exhibits any of these symptoms you might have a spyware app installed and running on it.
Common spy apps
There are many apps that have been designed to spy on people that can be downloaded in the app store or on Google Play today. Most of these spyware apps are aimed at parents wanting to keep an eye on and protect their children. However, these can be used by anyone in order to spy on a target person via their phone.
Below is a list of common apps that can be used to spy on you. Many spyware apps require a phone to be ‘jailbroken’ or ‘rooted’ before being installed, this is when the phone’s operating system is changed to allow the phone to become unlocked and customizable.
mSpy : An undetectable spying app for iOS devices. It can be used to read your chats, see your location, view your email, check your call history, record your keystrokes, and more.
Spyera : This app requires rooted and jail-broken iPhones to work. It can go undetected and monitors phone calls and your call history. It even allows call recording and eavesdropping on live calls.
Flexispy : Flexispy prides itself as the #1 phone monitor for parents and can monitor everything from calls to social texts.
Umobix : This powerful spyware app has a dashboard that allows users to easily monitor someone’s location, calls, texts, keystrokes, all major social media, and more. You can detect Umobix because it heats up the infected phone and greatly affects the battery life of the infected device.
Ikey Monitor : Although it requires the device to be rooted for Android or jailbroken for iPhones, this spy app captures keystrokes, passwords, and screenshots, allows for call recording and supports multiple languages.
Clevguard : Available for both iOS and Android, Clevguard allows users to track GPS and Wi-Fi locations, capture screenshots remotely, and more. Due to a recent update, the spy app drains the target phone’s battery significantly.
Remove spyware from your phone
If any of the beforementioned apps are present on your phone you need to remove them right away.
Go to your phone settings and remove the malicious applications, then download some protection suite and scan the whole phone for any other trace of software remains or other malware apps.
As you know, the Google Drive service is a Backup and Synchronization service provided by Google. It was launched way back in April 2012 which provides users with the options to synchronize, store and share files by uploading them to Google’s servers where they stay until they are deleted personally by the users and can be accessed anywhere using the Google Account that’s used to upload them.
Recently, a lot of users reported that they were unable to connect to Google Drive from their Windows 10 computers. This kind of problem has been noticed in the middle of the upload process and can be seen at times after the app launches. If you also experience the same issue, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing it.
There are a lot of possible reasons why this kind of problem occurs. It could be that the app was not able to launch properly or the internet got disconnected when the app was about to launch. It is also possible that the Firewall has blocked the app from connecting to the internet or that the antivirus program is preventing the app from making contact with its database. Aside from that, it is possible that the account you are using on your computer is preventing Google Drive from connecting to the internet due to some configuration errors.
Follow the suggestions provided below to fix the connection issue with Google Drive.
Option 1 – Configure the Firewall
As mentioned, the Windows Firewall might be blocking the app from contacting its database so, in this option, you have to allow Google Drive through the Firewall. To do so, follow these steps:
In the Windows Start Search, type “firewall” and click on the “Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall” option from the search results.
After that, you will see a list of apps, and here, click on the “Change Settings” button.
Next, scroll down and make sure to check both the “Public” and “Private” options for Google Drive.
Now click on Ok to save the changes made and then try to launch Google Drive again.
Option 2 – Try to launch Google Drive again
Google Drive might have not launched properly that’s why it can’t connect to its servers so you can try to launch it again and see if it helps.
Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
Next, go to the Processes tab and click on the “View” option located at the top.
After that, uncheck the “Group by Type” option and click on the “Google Drive Sync” from the list of processes.
Then click on the “End Task” option and close the Task Manager.
Launch Google Drive again and see if the issue is now resolved.
Aside from Firewall, antivirus programs, especially the third party ones, are also known to block files applications the instant it detects a threat to the system. Thus, your antivirus program might be the reason why you can’t download anything on your Windows 10 computer. To fix this, you can try to disable the antivirus program on your computer in the meantime and then try to launch Google Drive again. Do not forget to enable them again as disabling them can leave your computer vulnerable to cyber threats.
Option 4 – Try to create a new account
There are times when a certain configuration for a user account might be blocking some elements of the Google Drive app. In such cases, you can try to create a new account to fix the problem.
Click on the Windows key and then click on the icon for Settings.
From there, click on the Accounts button and select the “Family & Other People” option from the left pane.
Next, click the “Add someone else to this PC” option.
After that, click on the “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” option and select the “Add a user without a Microsoft Account” setting.
Type in the credentials for the new account you are creating and click on Next.
After the account is created, click on the account and then select the “Change account type” option.
Click on the drop-down menu and select the “Administrator” option and then click on OK.
Now sign out of the current account and sign in to the new one and then open Google Drive again.
Error 1512 is a type of runtime error code. This error may hamper your ability to run and load your desired programs on Windows PC. There are increased chances of runtime error 1512 occurring when system files go missing or get corrupt.
Symptoms of this error code include:
Slow PC speed
Window System freeze
Solution
Error Causes
There are several for the occurrence of runtime error 1512. These include:
Faulty or outdated drivers
Poor Program installation
Damaged Windows Registry
Viruses tampering the system settings/memory
Broken or incorrect Registry entries
Damaged Windows registry
Further Information and Manual Repair
To resolve this issue you don’t have to hire a professional and spend hundreds of dollars to get it fixed. Here are some of the best and easy do-it-yourself methods to repair error 1512 on your system in a few minutes.
These methods are very easy to work around and do not require any kind of technical expertise.
Method 1 - Uninstall and then reinstall the Same Program
Sometimes this runtime error may pop up due to poor program installation. In such an event, it is advisable to uninstall the program and then reinstall it again properly. To do so, go to the start menu, and click on control panel.
Now select the program & features option. Here you will find the option Add/Remove Program. Remove the program causing error 1512. Once the program is removed, reinstall it again.
Method 2 - Run an Antivirus Program
Computer viruses are capable of tampering with system settings. Due to this reason you might experience runtime errors like 1512 on your PC. These malicious programs usually enter the system through phishing emails or website downloads.
To resolve the issue, you need to run a powerful antivirus program. An antivirus removes all sorts of malicious programs hiding in your PC like malware, spyware, and malware that are responsible for generating runtime errors.
Method 3 - Update the Outdated Drivers on your PC
If the error still persists, then it is suggested to update outdated drivers. Faulty and outdated drivers can also trigger runtime error 1512. To do this, go to the Device Manager. Here use the Driver update wizard to make updates.
Method 4 - Remove the Invalid Registry Entries and Repair the Damaged Registry
The best way to perform both tasks is to download Restoro. It is embedded with a registry cleaner that is quite easy to use.
The registry cleaner removes all invalid entries in seconds, cleans the cluttered registry by wiping out all the redundant and unnecessary files. The damaged registry is then repaired and resumes its normal function.
Click here to download Restoro and resolve runtime error 1512.
What is 0x3D55? As you know, Windows 10 is loaded with various Universal Windows Platform or UWP apps such as the Microsoft News, Weather, Calculator, Windows Mail, and many other applications that are based on the modern UWP platform of Microsoft that was introduced in Windows 10.
Each one of these apps has a shared piece of code in the kernel for them to be able to get executed across any device that runs the Windows 10 OS which includes laptops, PCs, 2-in-1 devices, mobile phones, mixed reality headsets, and many more. However, there are times when the runtime information for these apps ends up getting corrupted which causes them not to function as expected and throws errors like the error 0x3D55.
This kind of error can be pinned down when the UWP app malfunctions and you can also find an error message in the Event Log that reads, “0x3D55: Package family <App name with ID> runtime information is corrupted”. So if you encounter this error, read on for this post will walk you through fixing it. There are three suggestions you need to check out to fix this error – first, you can try to reset the Microsoft Store cache, second, you can try to re-register or reinstall the problematic app and lastly, run the Windows Store App troubleshooter.
Option 1 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache
Just like browsers, Microsoft Store also caches as you view apps and games so it is most likely that the cache is no longer valid and must be removed. To do so, follow the steps below.
Right-click on the start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator).
Next, type in the command, “wsreset.exe” and tap Enter. Once you do, the command will clear the cache for the Windows Store app.
Now restart your PC and afterward, try opening Microsoft Store again and then try to install your app or update your computer again.
Option 2 – Run the Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter
The Microsoft Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the error 0x3D55. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app installation issues. So this is worth a try to solve the problem. This built-in tool also helps you fix the Windows 10 Store if it isn’t working.
To use the Windows Store Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.
Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
On your right-hand side, scroll down to find the Windows Store Apps and then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and see if it fixes the problem.
Option 3 – Try to re-register the UWP app via PowerShell
First, type “command prompt” in the Start Search and right-click on Command Prompt and then select the “Run as administrator” option.
Next, navigate to this location in the command line utility: C:/Users/<Insert Username>/AppData/Local/Packages
After that, execute the “DIR” command to view the list of all the directories in the given location.
Once the list appears, look for the ID of the problematic app and take note of it.
Now tap the Win + X key combination or right-click on the Start button and click on the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option.
If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed and open the Windows PowerShell window.
Next, type in or copy-paste the following command to re-register the Microsoft Store app and tap Enter:
Error code 0x80073afc deals with an antivirus program first built into Windows 8/8.1 This error occurs when Windows Defender, the built-in anti-virus software in Windows 8/8.1 and higher, does not start automatically and users attempt to manually start the program. During the initialization period of the program start-up, something goes wrong and users get a 0x80073afc Error message. The error message states there was a problem with the initialization of the program. Windows Defender provides protection of your computer and it is advised by the Microsoft Corporation that you ensure it starts up automatically on every start-up.
Solution
Further Information and Manual Repair
Users have found several manual repairs that have fixed the problem without needing to contact technicians for extra help. While the methods below should solve your problem easily, if this is the first time you have encountered the issue you may want to do a simple restart. This has fixed the problem for some users and is the easiest first troubleshooting move. If it doesn’t work move on to the methods listed below, which are easily completed without extra help.
Before trying any of these methods, please make sure that you are logged into a profile that is listed as the administrator of the computer of his administrative powers enabled. If this is not the case you will not be able to complete the following methods. Please log out and log back in on the administrator profile.
Method 1:
First, check to see if you have a third-party anti-virus program installed on your computer. Some users believe that the built-in Windows Defender program is not powerful enough to handle the safety of their computer so they usually download a third-party program. However, that program may have caused a conflict with Windows Defender and may not allow it to open. If you do have a third-party program installed, try uninstalling it then manually starting Windows Defender.
Method 2:
If method one does not work, you may be infected by malware or a virus that has tampered with the settings on your computer and will not allow Windows Defender to start automatically or manually.
First, open Run by holding the “Win” key and pressing the “R” key. Then type “Regedit”. The program will ask for permission to follow through with this action. Click on “Yes” and the Open Registry Editor will open.
Find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Option and check to see if there are any files similar to MSASCui.exe or MpCmdRun.exe. If there are any file entries that resemble that, you will want to right-click on them before selecting the “Delete” option. If you do not see any entries that match, this is not the issue with your Windows Defender and you will want to try another method.
The Registry on your computer is very important. It helps tell your computer what programs are safe to run, what programs should be run, and what programs should not be run. If it is tampered with by a virus or Malware, multiple system operations can be affected.
However, if you did find similar file names, and you deleted them, try to start Windows Defender manually. If it does not work again, move on to the next method.
Method 3:
If the first two methods do not work for your issue, and you are still receiving error code 0x80073afc when attempting to start Windows Defender, this step should solve the problem if you have Restore Point installed on your computer, which you most likely do.
For this method, we will be restoring your computer to a previous Restore Point. First, just like in method two, hold the “Win” key and press the “R” key. This will open run. Next type “Rstrui.exe” and click “ok”. After some time, you will see System Restore Windows. Click “Next” and select the restore point that you would like to go back to. After your computer has restored to the point you selected, check to ensure that Windows Defender has started correctly.
If the above methods aren't able to rectify the issue, you might have to download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.
BigTech platforms Google and Facebook were hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the US federal government and states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power.
Below is the status of the cases, as well as government probes of Apple and Amazon in their current states
Two lawsuits against Facebook
In a defeat, Judge James Boasberg said the Federal Trade Commission, which had sued Facebook in December asking that Facebook be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram, failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market, among other problems. However, the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29.
He threw out a related state lawsuit entirely, saying that the attorney's general had waited too long. They are looking at their options.
Four lawsuits against Google
The US Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial date was set for September 12, 2023.
A lawsuit by 38 US states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs, and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery.
Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online advertising business.
Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July 7, alleging that it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones.
Justice Department investigates Apple
This probe, revealed in June 2019, appears to focus on Apple's app store. Some app developers have accused Apple of introducing new products very similar to existing apps created by other developers and sold in the Apple Store, and then trying to banish the older apps from the store because they compete with Apple's new product. Apple says it seeks to have only the highest-quality apps in the app store.
Justice Department probing Facebook and Amazon
In July 2019, the Justice Department said it was expanding its Big Tech probes to include "search, social media, and some retail services online", an apparent reference to Facebook and Amazon.
Federal Trade Commission on Amazon
In its investigation of Amazon, the FTC is likely looking at the inherent conflict of interest of Amazon competing with small sellers on its marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce.
Instagram posting has been reserved for mobile phones for a very long time but in October 2021 that privilege has come to an end. Instagram added the long-awaited ability to post to Instagram from the website. You get nearly all of the same filters and editing tools that you can find in the iPhone and Android app, too.
In order to post via computer on your Instagram account all you need is a browser. The first step, of course, is to go to instagram.com and login into your account, if you do not have an account, you can make one for free. Next, click on the + icon in the upper right corner.
Create a new post screen will open, in this screen click on the Select from computer blue button on the bottom. The file manager will open, choose your desired photo and confirm. After that, you will be presented will an adjustment screen for a photo, here you can crop the photo, zoom in, adjust the aspect ratio, or if you wish add more photos to create a slide show.
Once you are done will all of these adjustments, click on Next in the upper right. From there you will be taken into a filter screen where you can apply one of many filters or if you want, you can adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, temperature, etc. just like in the application on your phone. Once you have the desired result, again click on Next in the upper right part of the screen.
Lastly, you will be given an option to write a caption for the photo if you wish and add a location. Once this step is finished you can post the feed by clicking on share in the upper right part.
That is all to it, just like in a mobile application you can now use your computer for Instagram posting.
Apple introduced the Live Photo feature way with iPhone 6S in their iOS9. Live Photo idea was that each time you take a photo, your phone will capture a few seconds of video along with sound and all of that is sent when you share your photo. This of course can sometimes be really bad when some not wanted audio gets recorded in the background.
Since the feature was introduced it has been set as the default option when taking pictures so each time you snap one you just capture a small amount of video and audio along. Good thing is that this feature can be turned off and the even better news is that you can edit your old photos to remove back video and audio.
How to share only photo
You can keep your Live Photos but share only a single still typical photo if you wish. Go to the photos app on your phone and select the photo you wish to share. Press the Share button on the bottom left part of the screen and once the Share menu appears tap on the Live button in the upper left corner of the selected photo. The button should turn grey and become slashed and now you can share only still photo. This is only temporary for this one specific share so next time you want to do this you will have to go through the process again.
How to disable Live Photo
If you are not happy with the previous solution and really do not want to turn off the Live feature each time you want to share a photo or you just simply do not want the feature at all there is way to turn if off for good. Take note that you can temporarily not use this feature just by opening the camera, switching to photo mode, and then tapping on the Live photo button on the toolbar that looks like three circles one inside another. This will temporarily turn the Live Photo feature for this session but next time when you open the camera by default it will be turned on again. This is a good approach if you want the feature but sometimes you just want not to use it.
In order to turn it off completely go to the settings of your phone and go to Camera and then preserve settings. inside the preserve setting turn the switch Live Photo to ON position, now go-to camera and again click on the live photo button to turn it off but this time setting will be saved and next time you open the camera it will not be ON.
Editing old Live Photos
As stated before you can edit your old pictures in order to make them stills. You can edit them to remove audio only but keep the video part, or you can completely remove everything and convert them into typical still images.
In order to only remove audio from your Live Photos go to pictures and select one that you wish to change, click on edit, and inside edit tap on the Live Photo icon (three circles). Next tap on the audio icon located in the top left corner of your screen and it will change into the mute icon. Click on done and you are finished.
To completely remove the Live photo go to Photos, select picture, click on edit and select the live photo button again. This time tap and hold the Live button next to the sound until it turns gray with a strike through it. Click on done and you are finished.
If you receive an error code of “0x80073afc” in Windows Defender after you boot your Windows 10 computer or when you try to manually run Windows Defender, then it could be that the Windows Defender files are corrupted. In such cases, this error could also occur if there is third-party security software that interferes with the smooth functioning of this Microsoft Security Client.
If you are one of the users who are currently facing this issue, then here are some suggestions you can check out to resolve the Windows Defender error code 0x80073afc.
Option 1 – Try to check the status of all the Windows Defender-related services
In the Cortana search box, type “services” and click on the Services icon to open the Services Manager. Alternatively, you can also tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run prompt and then type “msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager
After opening the Services Manager, look for the following services and make sure that their Startup type is set to their default values:
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection Service – Manual
Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection Service – Manual
Windows Defender Antivirus Service – Manual
Windows Defender Firewall Service – Automatic
You can right-click on each one of the listed services and then select Start to start them.
And if some of the services don’t have their default values, just double-click on the Services to change the Startup types and select the correct option from the drop-down menu of the Startup type under the Properties box.
Next, set up the Startup type of these services to Automatic and then click on the Start button if the services are not running yet.
Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then see if it fixed the problem or not.
Option 2 – Try to re-register the concerned DLL files
You could also try to re-register some Dynamic Link Library or DLL files on your computer as this could also help in fixing the Windows Defender error.
In the Start search, type “cmd” and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option from the context menu.
After opening Command Prompt as admin, type the following commands one after the other:
regsvr32 dll
regsvr32 dll
regsvr32 dll
regsvr32 dll
Once you’ve entered the commands given above, it will re-register the concerned DLL files in your system.
Now restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Option 3 – Try to use the Registry Editor
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.
Afterward, navigate to this registry path: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Options
Next, look for the DWORDs named “MSASCui.exe”, “MpCmdRun.exe”, “MpUXSrv.exe” and “msconfig.exe”.
If you can’t find these DWORDs, refer to the next given option below.
Restart your computer.
Option 4 – Check the Environmental Values
Type “View advanced system settings” in the Windows search box and select the appropriate result.
This will open a new mini window. From there, go to the Advanced tab and click on the “Environment Variables…” button located at the bottom part of the window.
Next, look for the “%ProgramData%” variable name and make sure that its value is set to C:/ProgramData.
Then click OK to save the changes made.
Option 5 – Run the System File Checker Scan
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 to good system files. 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.
Restart your computer.
Option 6 – Perform a System Restore
Performing a System Restore on your computer can also help you fix the Windows Defender error. You can do this option either by booting into Safe Mode or in System Restore. If you are already in the Advanced Startup Options, just directly select System Restore and proceed with the next steps. And if you have just booted your PC into Safe Mode, refer to the steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.