Bluetooth flaw, Android and Windows in danger

If you are visiting a single folder many times during the day it might be beneficial to place its shortcut on the desktop for easy access. But did you know that you can also set a keyboard shortcut for that same folder shortcut making it available simply by clicking desired key combination? In order to make a keyboard shortcut for the desired folder know that it is available only when you have a shortcut of the desired folder, it cannot be done on the folder itself, only on its shortcut. Now folder shortcut does not need to reside on desktop, you can place it anywhere you like, but it must be a shortcut. So the first step is of course to make a shortcut of the folder that you wish to have access via keyboard key combination and place it where you wish. Once you have done this step, right-click on it and choose properties. Inside properties at the top click on the Shortcut tab and then inside Shortcut Key, press the key combination that you wish to associate with this folder. Confirm with OK and start using fast folder access with your desired key combination.

There are several kinds of errors you could encounter when you are running Windows 10 on a virtual machine. The Windows OS knows the difference between booting up in a standalone computer or in a virtual machine. This is why some specific drivers and system capabilities are used while emulating the Windows OS on software and during this phase, there are times when the System Preparation may throw up an error that says, “A fatal error occurred while trying to sysprep the machine”. This kind of error arises due to a race condition wherein the Sysprep command tries to stop the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator or MSDTC service and the VMware tool tries to start the MSDTC service. You may also see the following messages logged in the Setuperr.log file:

• [0x0f0082] SYSPRP LaunchDll:Failure occurred while executing ‘C:Windowssystem32msdtcprx.dll,SysPrepDtcCleanup’, returned error code -2146434815[gle=0x000000b7]
• [0x0f0070] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:An error occurred while running registry sysprep DLLs, halting sysprep execution. dwRet = -2146434815[gle=0x000000b7]
• [0x0f00a8] SYSPRP WinMain:Hit failure while processing sysprep cleanup providers; hr = 0x80100101[gle=0x000000b7]

To fix the 0x0f0082, 0x0f0070, 0x0f00a8 Sysprep errors, you can check out two potential fixes. First, you have to check the status of the MSDTC service and the second one is to check the settings in the Windows Registry. Note that these fixes are proven to be effective on many users and apply to several versions of Windows, including Windows 10.

Option 1 – Check the status of the MSDTC service via Command Prompt

As mentioned, the error could be caused by the malfunctioning of the MSDTC service or it. Thus, you have to uninstall and reinstall the MSDTC service to resolve the problem and you can do that using Command Prompt. Follow the steps below.

• In the Start Search, type “command prompt” and from the results, right-click on Command Prompt and then select the “Run as administrator” option to open it with admin privileges.
• If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed.
• Once you’ve opened Command Prompt, execute this command: msdtc –uninstall
• The command you just entered will uninstall the MSDTC service. After that, you need to execute this second command to reinstall the service: msdtc –install
• Now exit Command Prompt and check if the error is now fixed.

Option 2 – Check the Registry settings

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and click OK or hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After opening the Registry Editor, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionSoftwareProtectionPlatform
• From there, look for a DWORD value that’s named “SkipRearm” and double click on it.
• Then change its value data to “1”.
• Restart your computer to apply successfully apply the changes made and check if it was able to fix the error.

We have all been there, unfortunately, the application freezes, and sometimes it can even freeze whole windows. Well if the whole Windows freezes because of the application there is not much we can do except hard reset but if only the application freezes we can still kill it and return the PC in working condition. The first thing you can try is to press ALT + F4, this shortcut is for closing the program, if the application is frozen Windows will try to close it when using this shortcut, and if it succeeds you will find yourself on the desktop environment in Windows with non-responsive application taken care of. If however, this fails and the application is not closed, try ending it in the task manager. To open task manager press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC, locate unresponsive application select it, and click on the end task button on the bottom right.

As you know, one of the basic apps in the Windows 10 operating system is the calculator and it can even be extended to a scientific calculator which makes it really useful for users. However, there are instances when you might encounter some issues while using this app. One of the issues about the Calculator app that’s been reported recently is that the Calculator app is not working. If you encounter the same problem, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on what you can do to fix the problem. Based on the reports, users claimed that the issue with the Calculator app occurred right after they’ve installed a feature update, while other users claimed that the Calculator app never really worked on their computers and there are also cases where the app opens but it either freezes or crashes. According to researchers, the main causes of the problem include a feature update that could’ve altered the settings. It could also be due to problems with the login account or corrupted and missing files, or the problem could also with the calculate app itself. To resolve this problem, here are some suggestions you can follow.

Option 1 – 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 that might be the reason why the calculator app is not working properly. 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:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

• Reboot your computer.

Option 2 – Run the DISM tool

You can also run the DISM Tool as it helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth” that could help in fixing the Calculator app.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • Dism (.)exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

Option 3 – Try logging into your computer using a different User Account

You might want to try logging into a different User Account since it is possible that the issue could have something to do with your log-in account. Thus, you can isolate this possibility by logging into a different user account. If you don’t have any other user account, simply create a new one by clicking on the Start icon and then go to Settings > Account > Family & other users. From there, go to the Other user's section and click on the Add someone else to this PC option, and then inputs all the needed information and restarts your computer. Once your computer has restarted, log into your computer using the newly created user account.

Option 4 – Try to reset or reinstall the Calculator app

If the first three given options didn’t work, you might want to reset or reinstall the Calculator app. To do that, follow these steps:

• Click on the Start button and go to Settings > Apps > Apps and features.
• Next, look for the Calculator app from the app list and click on it to see its other options.
• After that, select the Advanced options and go to the Reset section and then click on the Reset button to reset the Calculator app.

Note: You also have the option to reinstall the Calculator app. All you have the option to visit Microsoft Store and from there, uninstall the Calculator app.

The microphone has become from exclusive niche hardware to everyday requirements. In today's world when we live in a pandemic most of the work has shifted from office to home where people need working computers with microphones, working microphones. So what do we do when the microphone stops working? Keep reading on to find out and hopefully, we will fix this as fast as possible.

Check Microphone Privacy Settings

In 2019, Microsoft introduced new privacy features to Windows that give you more granular control over which apps are accessing your microphone. The side effect of this is that certain apps may be blocked from using your microphone without you even knowing. To find out if this is the issue, go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone. Click Change and make sure the slider is set to On. This will broadly mean that the mic is now enabled on your PC. Next, make sure the slider under Allow apps to access your microphone is set to On, then look through the list of Microsoft Store apps to make sure the apps you want to use are selected. You’re likely to be using many apps, not from the Microsoft Store, so to make sure these are enabled, scroll down even further and set the Allow desktop apps … slider to On.

Check Microphone Driver

The outdated or corrupted driver could be the issue for the microphone not working in Windows 10. To check the driver status, follow these steps:

1. In your Start menu search for Device Manager
2. In the device manager window search for sound and expand it.
3. Once expanded, you should see your audio drivers. Note that the names of these will vary depending on the manufacturer.
4. On Audio, right-click, and select properties. On the General tab, check to see if the device is working properly.
5. If it is not working properly, click on the driver tab and select the update option.
6. Repeat for the other audio drivers.
7. Restart the computer.

Check the Sounds setting

1. In the taskbar, right-click on the speaker icon at the far-right corner and select the sound option.
2. On the Recording tab, click on the microphone and select the Properties option.
3. Select the levels tabs and increase the volume for both microphone and microphone boost.
4. Go to the Enhancement tab of the same pop-up and make sure that the immediate mode checkbox is checked.
5. Click Ok and restart the computer.

The sound troubleshooter

1. Right-click on the sound icon at the far-right corner of the taskbar and select troubleshoot sound problems.
2. The computer will detect any fault that exists with your audio and recommend fixes for you. You just need to read through the prompts and click the options that you think will work for you.

Try microphone on another computer

If previous steps have not produced results, try the microphone on another computer, if it is not working there then it is a hardware malfunction

This post will guide you in what to do if you are trying to share the internet connection from your Android smartphone to your Windows 10 computer but USB tethering is not working. Although you can always connect your Android phone to your computer using a USB cable, you still won’t be able to access the internet. However, if you’ve already enabled the USB tethering option in your smartphone, you should be able to access the internet but if you still can’t then you can fix this issue by reading this post. There are several potential fixes you can check out to fix the USB tethering issue. You can try running both the Internet Connections and Network Adapter troubleshooters or try installing the USB RNDIS adapter or disable any unnecessary network adapters.

Option 1 – Try to run the Internet Connections and Network Adapter troubleshooter

There are various built-in troubleshooters in Windows 10 that can help fix system issues. Since you are dealing with an internet connection problem, you can try running both the Internet Connections and the Network Adapter troubleshooters. To run them, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings > Update & security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, you can select the Internet Connections troubleshooter.
• Click on the Run troubleshooter button to troubleshoot the problem.
• Wait until the troubleshooter is done identifying and fixing the problem automatically.
• Then follow the next on-screen instructions that may appear.
• Once it’s done, check if the USB tethering issue is now fixed.

Note: You can also try to run the Network Adapter troubleshooter. It is also located under the Troubleshoot section. Just scroll down until you see it and then run it.

Option 2 – Try installing or updating the USB RNDIS adapter

RNDIS or Remote Network Driver Interface Specification can also help you resolve the USB tethering problem. If the pre-installed driver does not help you in connecting to the internet, then you can try installing the USB RNDIS driver that is, if it’s not installed yet. If it is already installed, you can try to update it instead.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Device Manager.
• Next, expand the Network adapters section and look for the Remote NDIS based Internet Sharing Device. But if you are using a Samsung smartphone, you might see “Samsung” instead of under Network adapters.
• Right-click on it and then select the “Update driver” option.
• Then select the “Browse my computer for driver software” option.
• After that, select the “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer” option.
• Now uncheck the checkbox for “Show compatible hardware”.
• From the given list on your left-hand side, look for Microsoft and then select the Remote NDIS based Internet Sharing Device on your right-hand side.
• Click on Next. A new popup will appear where you have to click on Yes. This will install the driver.
• Now click on the Close button and restart your computer.

Option 3 – Try disabling any unnecessary network adapters/connections

Assuming that your Ethernet connection is showing ping loss which indicates that the internet is not stable. In such time, if you use the USB tethering functionality, you won’t be able to access the internet connection from your smartphone. The internet connection will be frequently disconnected since your computer gives priority to the Ethernet connection. Thus, you have to disable the Ethernet connection temporarily.

• Right-click the network icon on your Taskbar and select the option “Network and Sharing Center”.
• After that, click the network connection. And then click the Disable button from the status box that opens.
• After that, check if you can now connect to the internet or not.

Well if anyone told me just a few years ago that I will see the day when Microsoft releases a new OS based on Linux I would be very amused, but that day has come. Mariner is the newest OS out of nowhere. Microsoft’s new Linux Distro, dubbed Common Base Linux (CBL)-Mariner, isn’t the type of distro you’d want to install directly on any old machine. It’s primarily meant for cloud infrastructure and edge products. Specifically Microsoft’s Cloud and Edge products. But if you are curious, it’s possible to run. Juan Manuel Rey, a Microsoft Senior Program Manager for Azure VMware, recently published a guide to ISO CBL-Mariner image. With that, you can easily get it up and running. And you can build CBL-Mariner on an Ubuntu 18.04 desktop. So you can try it out since it is free. You can get it from here: https://github.com/microsoft/CBL-Mariner It is obvious that Microsoft aims to set itself as a leader in enterprise server environments with this move and it is very likely that it may succeed or at least give a good shake to its competitors, mainly red hat and Suse which are two dominant distros in that field. Many believe that they can win over by providing regular updates and package delivery via their already established system and that feature could be a turning point for some. In any case, time will tell and we shall see.

Every now and then, the Windows Installer can also encounter some problems or glitches. One of these problems is where the Windows Update Standalone Installer, Windows Defender as well as Windows Firewall throws an error message that says, “The specified service does not exist as an installed service, 0x80070424”. This type of error can actually affect various applications on your computer so you have to fix it as soon as you can. Although there is no clear reason for what really causes this error, there are various suggestions you can try to fix it.

Option 1 – Try to run the Windows Update troubleshooter

Windows 10 have various troubleshooters that can help you resolve many system issues. So if you’re dealing with errors “The specified service does not exist as an installed service, 0x80070424”, you can run the Windows Update troubleshooter to resolve it. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Option 2 – Try to reconfigure the Windows Time Service

• In the Start Search, type “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results.
• Then click on the “Run as administrator” option to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Now execute each one of the given commands sequentially and hit Enter right after you type each one of them.
  • net stop W32time
  • exe /unregister
  • exe /register
  • net start W32time
• After executing the given commands above, wait until it says, “W32Time successfully registered”.

Option 3 – Try to restart related Windows services

• First, type “command prompt” in the Start Search and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results.
• Then click on the “Run as administrator” option to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Now execute each one of the given commands sequentially and hit Enter right after you type each one of them.
  • SC config wuauserv start= auto
  • SC config bits start= auto
  • SC config cryptsvc start= auto
  • SC config trustedinstaller start= auto

Note: The commands you’ve just executed will make sure that the required Windows services are available.

Option 4 – Try to download and install the Windows Update Agent

You might also want to download and install the latest Windows Update Agent as it could also help you resolve the “The specified service does not exist as an installed service, 0x80070424” error.

Option 5 – Try to reset the Windows Update components

If by any chance that the second option didn’t work, resetting the Windows Update components could also help you resolve the problem. How? Refer to the following steps:

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS, and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC and then check for updates on your computer and see if the error is resolved.

Option 6 – Try running the Windows Firewall troubleshooter

You could also try to run the Windows Firewall troubleshooter as it might also help you fix the problem. This could help in repairing and fixing Windows Firewall issues automatically. Check if it’s available for your Windows.

What is Error 1723?

Error Code 1723 is a peculiar error type common in Windows PC. It is related to the Windows Installer package. This error is displayed in the following format:

"Error 1723- There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A DLL required for this install could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor...”

You are most likely to come across the error code 1723 if the Java installation is not completed successfully. In other words, the error indicates that the installation process has failed.

Solution

Error Causes

The 1723 error may occur due to several reasons, the most common being:

• Corrupted installers
• Files are not extracted successfully
• Registry problems
• Missing DLL files

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve this issue on your PC, you don’t always have to hire a professional technician and pay hundreds of dollars to get it fixed. The error code 1723 may not be a common Windows PC error but it is easy to fix. Here we have listed some of the best and easiest DIY ways to resolve this error on your system. These solutions are so easy to perform that even if you are not a computer programmer or technically adept, you can work through them and resolve the error in just a few simple clicks. So, let’s get started:

Solution 1: Install the latest Java Version

If the Java version previously installed on your system is not working properly and showing 1723 error messages then it is advisable to install the latest Java version. However, to do this first you will have to uninstall the old version and then download the latest Java version on your PC from a trusted website to ensure it does not contain malicious viruses and malware.

Solution 2: Ensure the Required Files are extracted in the ‘Temp’ Folder for Installers

Another method to resolve the 1723 error code is to check whether the required files are extracted in the temp folder for installers or not. The error may occur if the location is incorrect and the account is not permitted to extract files in the temp folder. In this scenario, the best way to resolve the issue is to change the permissions of the temp folder. This can be done by logging in to your account and opening file explorer or ‘My Computer’. Now copy and paste this link address in the address bar: DL:UsersUSERNAMEAppDataLocal. Please note, here DL is the drive letter of the Windows drive, and in the username insert the username of the account that you are using. Now right-click the ‘temp’ folder. Select properties and click on the Security tab. After that click edit below the list and press add. Again type the username here and click OK. The next step is to select the added account from the list and tick ‘FULL CONTROL’ box under ‘Permissions for Username’. Click OK and then close the properties. Once this process is complete, now try running the installer again. This will most likely resolve the issue. Nonetheless, if the error still persists, then this means the underlying cause of the error is deeper than you think. The error may be related to registry issues. In such situations, try solution 3 to fix the error 1723 on your system.

Solution 3: Download Restoro.

When the error code 1723 is triggered due to registry issues, then it is advisable to scan your PC with Restoro. Registry issues should be resolved immediately because they pose serious threats to your system. It can lead to system failure, crash and valuable data loss. Registry basically saves practically all the information and activities performed on your PC including the unnecessary and obsolete files like junk files, cookies, temporary files, and invalid entries. If these files are not removed they can corrupt the registry, damage dll files and installers thereby generating error codes like 1723 on your system. The easiest way to repair and clean the registry in seconds is to run Restoro on your PC. It is a smart, intuitive, advanced, and multi-functional PC repair tool. It is embedded with multiple powerful utilities and is a one-stop solution for all PC related issues. This software is compatible with all Windows versions. It is deployed with a highly functional registry cleaner that scans and detects all registry issues on your PC and removes them right away. It wipes out the unwanted files, repairs the damaged dll files and restores the registry. Other powerful utilities that are embedded in this software include an antivirus, a system optimizer and Active X controls and class modules. To resolve 1723 error code on your PC today, click here to download Restoro.

What is OpenCandy?

OpenCandy is an application that downloads and installs software, including other Internet Browsers to a computer system. Used as a bundle, this application installs additional programs that you may knowingly or unknowingly agree to install. Since most users don’t accept the challenge of reading the EULA in its entirety, they tend to download bundled applications unknowingly.

Assessment of OpenCandy PUP

During the initial assessment of OpenCandy, I was a little skeptical about what to look out for or expect. In fact, I had to install the OpenCandy.exe file twice to discern its behavior. I’m not sure how this application got its name but I do believe it has something to do with the fact that it supposedly helps Internet users open a new world of Internet browsing. That conclusion was arrived at after realizing that OpenCandy.exe installed mostly Internet browsers along with a tune-up tool on the test computer. However, as a result of the system requirements, there was a pop-up message indicating that Internet Explorer 8 was not compatible with the computer system in question. In comparison to the malware I’ve encountered since I started researching malware, OpenCandy is everything but malicious. In fact, this application is only categorized as malware because of its’ subtle covert nature of installing bundled programs unsolicited by the user. Additionally, OpenCandy coerces users into changing their Internet Browsers by installing those unrequested by the user. In fact, it’s no shock that OpenCandy chose to install the Internet Browser ‘Opera’ as a part of this bundle since it’s one of the least used browsers according to the Federal Government. Clearly, this was a smoothly disguised advertisement or promotion to force users into using the Opera Browser, along with Internet Explorer 8.0. While these aforementioned browsers in themselves aren’t malicious and are in no way considered malware, they were installed as a promotional tool and without the request of the user. Despite being mentioned within the EULA, advertisers are capitalizing on this since most users do not bother to read the agreements when installing a program. Furthermore, OpenCandy, like most other bundled applications I’ve dealt with, threw in a tune-up tool as a part of the promotion. I found this tune-up application annoying since I had to hassle my way into getting it to close from the computer screen. I can only imagine the hassle users would go through trying to remove this software. Image 7: Depiction of a scan performed by Tuneup Utilities. The scan detected that several areas on the test PC could be optimized/tuned up. Image 8: After a scan was completed using the Tuneup utility program, I was given an option to buy the full version. Nothing is wrong with this marketing strategy. In fact, most utility tools if not all will scan your computer to detect threats or loopholes, but they won't exactly allow you to fix those problems unless you buy the full version. It's not unfair, it's just business. Programs installed during the installation of OpenCandy include:

• Web Companion: Developed by Lavasoft, Web Companion is said to be an application that serves as a security defense for your Internet browsers by preventing unauthorized changes (see image below)
• Tuneup Utilities: Tuneup Utilities does exactly as it says. It cleans up a computer system, whereby preventing unused programs from slowing it down.
• Opera Stable 30.01.1835.88: Opera is a fast, simple, and effective Internet browser that allows users to get around on the web.

All in all, the intent of installing an application such as OpenCandy is to unleash a world of promotion or advertisements on your computer. They are pretty annoying and in some cases difficult to remove. Furthermore, as a user, you want to control what gets installed on your computer without being dictated to or coerced in some EULA that you probably overlook. To completely remove OpenCandy PUP from your computer, click here to download and install Spyhunter.