Steam beta introduces no rollback game updates

One of the smoother things that Microsoft did with the Windows 10 operating system is to separate Cortana from Search. This means that Cortana is strictly now a voice assistant and many users have seen it coming since not everyone uses Cortana. In addition, it also paved the way for other virtual assistants like Alexa to get on board with Windows 10. And now in the newly released Windows 10 v1903, Windows has brought the Voice Activation under Privacy. In this post, you will be guided on how to perform the Voice Activation troubleshooting on your Windows 10 computer. To use Voice Activation in Windows 10, follow, in the Start Search, type “voice activation” and click on “Voice activation privacy settings” listed in the search results. And from there, you can choose to allow apps to use Microphone, like listen in the background as well as select which app can access it. Each time enabled voice assistants continue to listen via microphone for the voice keyword, the app will activate itself for the keyword and will react depending on what you ask it. So if you are using a voice assistant and it didn’t respond when you speak the keyword, just go to Settings > Privacy > Voice Activation and follow these steps:

Option 1: Check the App permission to use the voice activation feature.

You have to make sure that the toggle button for the Voice activation feature is turned on globally. It can be found under the “Allow apps to use voice activation” section. You also have to ensure that the microphone is available for apps that use this feature.

Option 2: Voice activation is not working under the lock screen.

If you tend to use the voice assistant even when your computer is locked, Microsoft has a specific setting that you have to turn on. You need to make sure that the toggle button for the “Allow apps to use voice activation when this device is locked” option is turned on. However, keep in mind that the voice assistants are not locked to only recognize your voice as they also answer to anyone who will use the voice keyword.

Option 3: Check the individual permissions of apps.

If the voice assistant is not working, you have to check each one of the apps’ permissions for voice keyword, and the option to work under locked condition works.

Option 4: Run the Microphone troubleshooter.

If you’ve verified that the settings are in place, then you have to run the Microphone troubleshooter by simply going to Settings > Privacy > Microphone. From there, make sure that the toggle button for the following options is turned on:

• Allow apps to access your microphone
• Enable microphone access for the voice assistant

And if it’s a desktop app, you have to enable the toggle on at the end.

Receiving a screen of death is not a pleasant experience at all and most users would agree that they would very much like not to face one during their work with the computer. Sadly PC is not a perfect machine and it is not working in a perfect environment so errors happen. The most famous and well-known death screen is blue which is also the most common one, my bet would be that there is not a user which has not been faced with this blue error screen. There is no simple explanation why these stop errors occur as several factors can be involved. However, it is known that the malfunctioning of hardware drivers or drivers that are installed by third-party software drive this unwanted change. But did you know that there is more colors for infamous death screens and not just blue one? Microsoft has coded different errors to different colors in the goal for the technical team to be aware right away of what type and kind of error they are dealing with. Color for screen errors are: Blue, Black, Pink, Brown, Yellow, Red, Orange, Green and White If you are interested in what color represents what keep reading.

BLUE

A stop error or exception error commonly called the blue screen of death (BSoD) or blue screen, is an error screen displayed on Windows computers following a fatal system error. It indicates a system crash, in which the operating system has reached a condition where it can no longer operate safely. This is caused by many different problems, such as a general hardware failure or a crucial process terminating unexpectedly.

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BLACK

On Windows 10 systems, a Black Screen of Death can be caused by an unfinished Windows Update. To resolve this problem, simply hold the power button down on your PC or laptop to switch off the computer. A cold start should result in the system booting properly.

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PINK

It is a diagnostic screen with a white type on a pink background. Pink Screen is mainly seen when the VMkernel of an ESX/ESXi host experiences a critical error, becomes inoperative, and terminates any virtual machines that are running. It is not fatal and generally considered more of a developer testing issue. When encountered, it can be fixed quickly by following the simple action of pressing and holding your computer’s power button to shut down the device.

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BROWN

The Microsoft Windows 10 Operating System Brown Screen of Death is an on-screen fatal error notification with bug check codes which is seen when a computer crashes due to graphics hardware or software-related problems (failing graphics drivers).

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YELLOW

It affects the functioning of a browser, particularly Mozilla Firefox. The Yellow Screen of Death makes the appearance with a weird buzzing sound in the background when the XML parser refuses to process an XML document causing a parsing error and a weird buzzing sound. The issue persists unless the computer is manually rebooted.

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RED

Commonly the Windows 10 red screen is caused due to the hardware error, particularly if you overclock your Windows PC/laptop. Despite this, sometimes the red screen of death is also caused by outdated or incompatible drivers or due to BIOS issues.

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ORANGE

The Orange Screen of Death on Windows occurs due to fatal hardware errors. Multiple reasons have been reported for the Orange Screen of Death. Some had this issue when watching a YouTube video, some were not able to boot into Windows. It can even occur when waking up from Sleep.

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GREEN

The green screen of death only appears when you're running an Insider Preview version of Windows 10. It's the same as the blue screen of death, and it will show the same error messages. ... If you see a green screen of death (GSOD) on your PC, that's a sign you're using an Insider Preview build of Windows 10.

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WHITE

The White Screen on Windows is also an error where the screen of the computer just turns white and freezes. There can be several things that can cause the white screen to appear on the Windows laptop monitor. But the main issue could be because of malfunctioning of the graphics hardware.

As more and more people get into insider preview of upcoming Windows 11 we will see more and more different takes and opinions on it. Generally speaking, the first wave was quite positive when it was previewed but how time is passing more and more limitations and frustration comes to the surface. Some of the limitation that is inside it, which have been confirmed by Microsoft itself includes features missing that we had in Windows 10 like moving the application to the taskbar in order to pin it, moving the file in the taskbar to open it in default application and some big annoyances like Windows opening widgets always in Edge no matter what is your default browser. Not being able to move the taskbar from the bottom is also one of many illogical things. There is not really a point in these missing features since they were working fine in Windows 10 and many users liked them since they could customize Windows more to their liking, now with this new look at limitations it reminds me personally much of apple macOS and I will be honest, I am not a big fan of that kind of thinking. If I wanted that kind of OS I would have gotten myself a MAC, not custom build PC, but hey, Linux is always a free alternative, and how Microsoft itself is pushing limitations and in my opinion bad design choices along with awful system requirements that might just be a case for a lot of users. I am really not sure what is logic behind these moves and I am sure they have their reasons but this time it seems that their take on the new OS is not resonating well with the overall user population, well at least what I have heard so far. Things of course can still be changed and made for the better and I would rather see release postponed and issues addressed than getting more system hogging and limited new OS that at its current state looks like reskinned Windows 10 with limitations.

What is BitCoinMiner Malware?

BitCoinMiner is a Malware created with the intent to force computer systems to generate crypto-currency, namely Bitcoin. This is done without the consent and knowledge of a computer/system holder. This unwanted file bears no digital signature or publisher since the creators of such a heinous invention do not wish to be known. Technical details about BitCoinMiner Malware include:

Product Version: 1.0.0.0 Original File Name: crss.exe Entry Point:  0x000C5AAE

Assessment of BitCoinMiner Malware

After installation of the BitCoinMiner Malware, there were no visible signs of an infection or program files installed. However, based on research, BitcoinMiner Malware utilizes the CPU’s resources (est. to be about 50%). Computer users have reported that they recognized an unknown process utilizing the majority of their processing space. the bitcoin miner is used by the creators to penetrate a user’s system, in effect coercing each infected system to mine Bitcoins covertly. After years of mining, a user might discern that their computer is moving slouchy and may even encounter various forms of BSODs.   After Bitcoins have been mined in the infiltrated system, the cyber currency is then returned/ sent to the creator of the malware. This venture is a sly and deceptive way to earn Bitcoins since the currency is gaining much popularity.

Further Information on BitCoinMiner

BitCoinMiner works covertly. There are no obvious traces of this program running on a computer system. However, once a computer system is infiltrated, the computer user will realize that their CPU resources are strangely being used up, even while the computer idles. Another expression of BitCoinMiner is the addition of cookies of various sorts to a computer system. These include:

• Tracking cookies
• Advert (Adware) cookies
• Casale Media (Spyware) cookies
• Atwola (Spyware) cookies
• Adtech (Spyware) cookies

Once BitCoinMiner is present on a computer system, it can potentially slow it down and also create back doors as a means to install other unwanted and harmful programs. To completely remove BitCoinMiner Malware from your computer, click here to download and install Spyhunter.

New Windows brings new keyboard shortcuts, most of them are tied to new features and we are presenting you some new ones that are worth remembering. ⊞ WINDOWS + N - notification panel ⊞ WINDOWS + W - News and Interests feed With the News and Interests feed, Windows 11 offers users the ability to check the latest news, the weather, and more without opening a browser window. ⊞ WINDOWS + Z - Snap Layout Instead of the usual two windows snapping capability, Windows 11 allow users to snap their windows in a three-column layout. Users can access this by pressing Windows Key and Z to access the Snap layout. ⊞ WINDOWS + PRT SCN - taking screenshots This one isn’t exactly new, but pressing the Windows Key and Print Screen will automatically capture the entire screen and save a copy of the image on your PC. Once the screen flashes, you will know that the screenshot has been taken, after which you can find the file saved under your Pictures folder in a subfolder called Screenshot. ⊞ WINDOWS + C - Microsoft Teams chat Microsoft Teams app, the service allows anyone with a Microsoft account to quickly start a chat using the Windows + C shortcut.

Outlook PST Mailbox Errors Malfunctions

Can you use an MS-Outlook e-mail account to send and get workplace e-mails on a daily basis? Are you using the exact same Outlook e-mail account for a long time? Are you getting PST Mailbox Errors? Then you have developed awareness and knowledge about Outlook PST Errors. Ms-outlook essentially stores the email items in a PST record. This includes all attachments, contacts, calendar items, your e-mails and records. You might encounter various kinds of Outlook Inbox error messages exhibited on the display in extended formats eg. 0x80040600 0x8004060c or 0x80040116. All all these are Outlook mailbox malfunctions that stop the Outlook program from executing jobs correctly and thus restricting your capacity to gain access to your e-mail account, see attachments, contacts, and calendar items that are significant.

Error Causes

There's not a single particular trigger for Outlook email malfunctions. A few causes can trigger these, but, the most frequent are virus contamination, 2 GB limit is exceeded by PST file and broken. There are no specific signals which will help help you identify but some pointers to look at include the following:-

• You cannot access certain parts of your Outlook interface
• Obscure error messages start popping on your screen
• You can’t add new contacts or change entry data in your calendar

Further Information and Manual Repair

When you experience these signs related to PST Inbox errors, it is advisable to repair the problem immediately to ensure it does not cause inconvenience for you and hampers your communication via Outlook emails. Remember this error not only inconveniences you but also hinders proper communication between various business partners. Determining the ultimate reason for distinct Outlook email malfunctions could be tricky, time-consuming, and might need specialized knowledge to nail it down with regards to fixing the Outlook mailbox malfunctions. In case you are not a specialist, working out and fixing this problem is an uphill process. To simplify this process, obtain and install an Outlook PST Repair Tool! This is an intelligent solution to fix all kinds of Outlook errors. You do not have to go deeper into the technical details of the problem. The Outlook PST Repair tool does it for you. An inbox repair tool identifies and also repairs all sorts of MS Outlook errors in seconds. It is easy to use, highly functional, safe and efficient. By installing an Outlook repair tool, Outlook errors can be easily removed from your computer and keep the errors from happening again. It also fixes damaged PST files and damaged e-mails can help regain data. Whatever you should do is to begin:

1. Click here to download the inbox repair tool
2. Install the software on your system
3. Run it and click restore to resolve Inbox errors

Windows Updates are checked for their validity every time they are downloaded from Microsoft servers just like how browsers check websites for a valid certificate. And so if you got an error message saying, “ Some update files aren’t signed correctly, error code 0x800b0109 ” while trying to update your computer, it indicates that the Windows service was unable to verify the validity of the Windows Update. To fix this error, you can try out the options prepared in this post.

Option 1 – Reboot your computer and try again

Save your work and reboot your computer and then try checking for updates again. In some cases, all you need is a restart to fix errors like error code 0x800b0109.

Option 2 – Try to update Windows after an hour or so

There are times when the issue is from Microsoft’s end. It could be that there’s some issue with Microsoft’s server so it would be better if you give it an hour or so before trying to run Windows Update again.

Option 3 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter is one of the things you can first check out as it is known to automatically resolve any Windows Update errors like Error 0x8007001E. 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 4 – Delete the contents in the Temporary folder

You can also try deleting the contents in the Temporary folder – all the downloaded, pending, or failed Windows 10 updates. You can do that using the simple and easy steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “%temp%” in the field and press Enter to open the Temporary folder.
• After that, select all the folders and files within the Temp folder and delete all of them.

Option 5 – Clear the contents in the Software distribution and Catroot2 folders

• Open the WinX Menu.
• From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.

net stop wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver

• After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic, and the MSI Installer
• Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.

After resetting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you need to reset the Catroot2 folder to restart the services you just stopped. To do that, follow these steps:

• Type each one of the following commands.

net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver

• After that, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer, and then try to run Windows Update once more.

Option 6 – Install the updates in a Clean Boot State

You might want to try putting your computer in a Clean Boot state and then install Windows Updates again without any trouble. During this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the issue.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• After that, try to install the Windows Updates or upgrade again.

Windows 10 has a UWP app for its Camera that you can use to take pictures and videos. However, if you suddenly encounter an error code 0xa00f4243 while using the Camera UWP app, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will provide some potential fixes that you can use to fix the problem. This kind of error could be due to an outdated or corrupted driver or a third-party program. When this error appears on the Camera UWP app, you will see the following error message:

“Close other apps. It looks as though another app is already using the camera. If you need it, here’s the error code: 0xA00F4243 (0xC00D3704)”

To fix the error code: 0xA00F4243 (0xC00D3704) in the Camera UWP app, you can try to run the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter or reset the Camera app or update or reinstall the driver or apply some tweaks in the Registry Editor. In addition, you can also try checking the Windows Services or run the System File Checker.

Option 1 – Try to run the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter

The Windows 10 Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the Camera UWP app error code: 0xA00F4243 (0xC00D3704). 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 Apps 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.
• Under the Troubleshoot section, on your left-hand side, scroll down to find Window Store Apps.
• Then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and follow the on-screen instructions and then see if it fixes the problem.

Option 2 – Try to reset the Camera app to fix

As pointed out earlier, you can also reset the Camera app to fix the error. To do so, follow the steps below.

• The first thing you have to do is go to the My Pictures folder under the C: drive of the File Explorer and then delete the Camera Roll folder.
• Once you’re done, right-click on an empty area on your screen and create a new folder and name it “Camera Roll”.
• Then from the Start menu open the Settings app and select System.
• From there, navigate to the Apps and features section.
• Now go to Camera and click on the Advanced Options and click the Reset button.

Option 3 – Try to reinstall the drivers for the Camera app

You might want to reinstall the Camera drivers as it could resolve the problem. To do so, refer to these steps:

• First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
• After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.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 driver listed under the Camera section and then, right-click on each entry of the device drivers 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.

Option 4 – Try to use the Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWOW6432NodeMicrosoftWindows Media FoundationPlatform
• Here, look for a DWORD named “EnableFrameServerMode” and if you can’t see it, just create a new DWORD by right-clicking on any empty space.
• Then select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it as “EnableFrameServerMode”.
• Double click on the newly created DWORD and set its Value data to “0” and click on OK.
• Restart your computer and see if it fixes the Camera UWP app error code: 0xA00F4243 (0xC00D3704).

Option 5 – Try checking the Windows Services

Note that this option only applies to computers with Intel Hardware for the Camera.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “services.msc” and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
• Next, look for the “Intel(R) RealSense(TM) Depth” service from the list of services and double click on it to open its Properties.
• After that, change its Startup Type to “Automatic” and make sure it’s running and then click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
• Restart your computer and check if the problem has been resolved.

Option 6 – Try running System File Checker or SFC 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:

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 PC.

You can prevent starting of app installations files if they have not come from the MS store inside Windows 11. This can make your PC more secure because all apps in the store will have to be digitally signed and overall it can provide you with more control over what will be installed. Follow the guide below to find out how can you easily turn this feature ON.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open Windows settings
2. Select Apps and then choose Apps & Features
3. Click on Choose where to get apps to bring a drop-down menu
4. Select The Microsoft Store only (Recommended)
5. Close settings

Settings will apply changes immediately and you continue using Windows right away. With these settings turned ON if you want to install a downloaded application or run the installer you will not be able to, and message The app you’re trying to install isn’t a Microsoft-verified app will show on your screen. You can always reverse this setting by choosing Anywhere in settings instead of Microsoft store only.

One of the most useful and efficient command-line disk management tools is the DISKPART utility. It can be used to manage, delete or create new hard drive partitions. However, despite its efficiency, there are still times it could face some errors like the “No usable free extent could be found”. You can encounter this error when you create a partition. This error could be due to insufficient disk space which is why it is not able to carry out the operation. It is also possible that the disk is not recognized by the system. And since there are only four recognized primary partitions, when you try creating a fifth one, you will get this error. In addition, this error could also occur if the disk has been partitioned using the MBR disk partitioning format. To fix the “No usable free extent could be found” error, here are some suggestions you can follow.

Option 1 – Free up disk space using Storage Sense

The error could be caused by insufficient disk space in your computer and so you need to free up disk space using Storage Sense to fix the problem.

• Open Setting > System > Storage from the WinX Menu.
• From there, you will see a list of all the local and connected storage devices along with the details on the free space. Make sure that Storage Sense is on.
• Next, find a link that says “Free Up Space” and click it to open.
• After that, a screen which is the built-in program in Windows 10 will appear and will scan your computer for the following junk files so you can free up disk space:
  • Windows Upgrade Log Files
  • The system created Windows Error Reporting Files
  • Thumbnails
  • Temporary Internet Files
  • Previous Windows Installation Files
  • Delivery Optimisation Files
  • DirectX Shader Cache
• Choose the files you want to get rid of and then click on the remove files option. Note that you’ll have an idea of the total size as you select any of the junk files listed above.
• Now go to the “Free Up Space Now” section and click the Clear Now button. This will get rid of all the temporary or junk files in your computer and should hopefully fix Error 1310.

Note: You can also run the Disk Cleanup tool to free up disk space.

Option 2 – Try to run DISKPART in Command Prompt with administrator permissions

The next thing you can do to resolve the error is to run the DISKPART utility with admin privileges.

• In the Start Search, type “command prompt” and from the search results that appear, look for Command Prompt.
• Once you found it, right-click on it and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• After that, try to execute the Diskpart operation once again. Note that you also have to specify different size & offset values for the partitioning and then see if you still encounter the same error.

Option 3 – Try to execute the DISKPART clean command

The next thing you can try is to execute the clean command in DISKPART to fix any issues in the disk.

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then execute this command: diskpart
• The command you entered will initiate the DISKPART utility. Now execute this second command to view all the disk connects or all the partitions on those disks formed: list disk
• After that, you need to select one command depending on the list command you executed and then execute this third command: select disk #
• The third command you just executed will select the disk or partition you want to select. Now execute this fourth command: clean
• The command you entered will remove all the volumes or partitions formatting the disk in focus.
• Once it’s done, try to carry out the DISKPART operation you were trying to execute.

Option 4 – Try to update the USB drivers

Outdated USB drivers can also be the reason why you’re getting the error. Thus, you must update them from time to time. You can install the latest version of the USB driver for your system. But you need to check the manufacturer’s website or guidelines to update the driver according to your system. If it happens that the drivers might not be compatible with the version of the system your laptop is using which is unlikely, you can run the driver software in Compatibility Mode in that kind of situation. To update your USB drivers, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After that, look for the USB Serial Bus controllers from the list of device drivers displayed. If you see a red or yellow sign that shows up against the driver, right-click on the driver’s name and select “Update Driver Software”. And if you find any “Unknown device”, you need to update it as well.
• Select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.

Option 5 – Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter or the USB troubleshooter

You can find the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter under the Troubleshooters section of the Windows Settings panel on your Windows 10 PC. You can use this troubleshooter to fix common hardware and external device-related issues without exerting too much effort. If you don’t know where to find it, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Windows Settings.
• Next, navigate to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• You should see the option for Hardware and Devices on your right-hand side where you can also find the “Rub the troubleshooter” button – click on it to get started.
• Follow the next on-screen instructions to fix the basic issues of common hardware and external device.

Note: If you want to, you can also use the USB Troubleshooter to fix the problem just go back to the Troubleshoot page where you can find it.