Remove GIFables - Malware Removal Guide

If you encounter an error saying, “Invalid file handle” when you try to rename, copy, delete a file or other operations in your Windows 10 computer, then read on as this post will guide you in what you can do to fix it. This kind of error pops up when the operating system tries to carry out an operation on a folder or file using the following words:

CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9

When you rename or create a folder or file using the reserved words given above, you could encounter an error that says, “The specified device name is invalid”. This occurs since these words are Windows system reserved words that you can’t use, unlike any other words. Thus, if you have a folder or file which contains any of the reserved words on another computer that runs a non-Windows operating system and you try to copy or rename it Windows, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting this error message. In such cases, you can always click on the Skip button to stop the operation. However, if there are various folders or files, you can just use the Command Prompt to carry out the task. All it takes is a simple command that will get rid of the folder as well as the files in it. How? Refer to the instructions given below. Step 1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility. Step 2: Next, type “cmd” in the field and then tap Enter to open Command Prompt. Step 3: After opening Command Prompt, execute the following command:

rd \.file-folder-path /S /Q

Note: The “rd” command will remove the directory or the folder while the “\.” command will select the current computer. The “/S” command, on the other hand, helps you in removing all the sub-directories and the files that are in the CON folder. The “/Q” command is not really mandatory since it helps you remove everything silently without any confirmation message. For example, if you have a folder named “CON” located on your Desktop, the path will be like this “C:/Users/<username>/Desktop/CON”. In this case, the command should be like this:

rd \.C:Users<username>DesktopCON /S /Q

However, if the error pops up for a whole different reason, you could use the following command instead to remove the reparse point extended functionality. Once you’ve entered the given command below, you should now be able to delete the file.

FSUTIL reparsepoint delete C:Users<username>DesktopFileName DEL C:Users<username>DesktopFileName

Quest 2 has been crowned as the best overall VR headset by many websites, and to be honest it is really a great piece of equipment deserving of every praise it gets. It seems that Meta feels that it can do better so the new upcoming Quest Pro is upgraded and a new line of VR sets from this company. The economic standard Quest line will not be shut down and it will still remain as an economic version of Meta's VR product line.

Quest Pro will be added as a new line of the better product line with better performance and better quality. It is the first VR headset that is packing Qualcomm Snapdragon XR3+ Gen 1 chipset, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and 10 high-resolution sensors. Of course, this much power and improvement come with a higher price tag, this time that price tag is $1,499.99.

The new VR headset promises industry-leading visuals with a new optical stack instead of Fresnel lenses in Meta Quest 2 with thin-layer pancake optics that fold light reducing the depth of the optical module by 40% and at the same provides clear and sharp visuals.

The headset will give display more vivid colors, richer colors, and higher contrast by incorporating local dimming and quantum dot technology. It composes of specialized backlight hardware accompanied by software algorithms that can control more than individual LED blocks independently.

The Quest Pro will also come packed with new Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers. They will feature three built-in sensors to track the controller's position completely independent of the headset which means that tracking and range of motion will be improved. These new controllers will also be sold separately at the cost of $299.99 and they can be used with Quest 2.

The headset is available for preorder and it will start shipping in late October on the Meta website

There are a lot of online services and a lot of ways to get your public IP address. One of them being typing whats my IP in Google search and you will get immediate results. But there is a way to get the same information inside Windows 10 which could be very useful if for any reason you can not connect to mentioned services. By checking public IP directly inside your windows you can make sure that the issue for not being able to open some websites is not due to your public IP. In order to use this Windows feature, we will be checking our public IP using Windows PowerShell. To open Power Shell in Windows first press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog Inside run dialog type Powershell and press ENTER In the Powershell type in the following command and press ENTER

(Invoke-WebRequest -uri "http://ifconfig.me/ip").Content

When the command finishes you will see what is your public IP address, if you wish to know more about your connection type in and press ENTER:

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri ('https://ipinfo.io/')

This command will provide you with further information like city, region, country, and others.

If you suddenly find your Windows 10 computer stuck on the “Preparing to configure” screen for quite a long time now after you run Windows Update, read on as you will be guided on how you can fix that issue in this post. During an update process, there’s a lot of things that go on in the background which is why Windows Updates take quite a while before it finishes. It can be at 25%, 50%, or even 100% but the only message you’re going to see on your screen is the “Preparing to configure Windows, Don’t turn off your computer”. However, if you notice that the Windows Update is taking a longer time than it’s supposed to, the first option is to wait some more but if it’s still the same, then there’s definitely something wrong. This kind of issue occurs when Windows Update fails to configure in short correctly download and install the update. When this happens, it will revert all the changes which are why you were advised to wait for a couple of hours. There are two possibilities why your computer is stuck on the “Preparing to configure Windows, Don’t turn off your computer” screen. The first one is that the Windows 10 operating system is installing any updates. The second one is when the user profile takes time to load or encounters an error. There are several options you can try to fix the problem. You can try running System Restore or boot your computer in Safe Mode or repair the corrupted profile via Registry Editor. You might also want to try using installation media to boot and repair your computer if the other options didn’t work.

Option 1 – Perform System Restore

• 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.

Note: If you can’t boot into the desktop of your computer, you can run System Restore in the Advanced Startup Options by following these steps:

• Boot your computer into the Advanced Startup Options screen.
• From there, you will see some options to troubleshoot when you can’t log in to Windows in the usual way.
• Now select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
• After that, type “rstrui” and hit Enter to execute the command which will start the System Restore process.
• Once it’s done, restart your computer.

Option 2 – Boot your computer in Safe Mode

You can try to tap the F8 key if you have it enabled in your Windows 10 computer, as you start your system to boot into Safe Mode. Once your computer is in Safe Mode, you can access the Start Menu and the Mouse and Keyboard. Aside from that, you can also access your files and other built-in tools in Windows such as Command Prompt, PowerShell, Computer Manager, Device Manager, Event Log Viewer, and many more. On the other hand, if you haven’t enabled the F8 key, you can just go to the Advanced Startup options to boot your computer into Safe Mode. Once you’re there, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart > Tap the number 4 key. After that, your computer will restart in Safe Mode. If you want to reboot into Safe Mode with Networking instead, you can tap the number 5 key and for Safe Mode with Command Prompt, tap the number 6 key. Once your computer is in Safe Mode, you can use any of the built-in tools to restore your computer or troubleshoot the problem that’s causing your computer to get stuck at the “Preparing to configure” screen.

Option 3 – Try to repair your corrupted profile via Registry

In this third option, you can try to repair the corrupted profile using the Registry but before you proceed, take note that you can only try this if you can boot into your desktop and if you can, make sure to create a System Restore Point and then follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, go to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileList
• Once you’ve opened the registry key, you should see a list of all the user profiles on your computer. Now click on each S-1-5 folder and look for the “ProfileImagePath” entry and double click on it to check which user account it is related to. You will see a path like “CUsersACK” where “ACK” is the username.
• You should know which of the user account is corrupted. Just look for a key named “RefCount” and change its Value data to “0” and click OK. And if it isn’t available, simply right-click on the right pane and create it.
• After that, double click on the key named “State” and make sure that the Value data is “0” and click OK.
• Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made.

Option 4 – Try to use installation media to boot and repair your computer

Another thing you can try to resolve the issue is to use the Windows installation bootable media so you can boot and repair the operating system. To use it, follow these steps:

• You need to first create an installation media which has the dame version of the operating system installed in your computer.
• After that, once you reach the Install Windows screen, click on the “Repair your computer” link.
• Wait until the repair is completed and then shut down your computer
• Now once your computer has restarted, check if it can now boot properly.

Microsoft has started to use group along with every open window in the Taskbar ever since the release of Windows 10. Early on, they used to show an individual entry for each one of the windows after grouping them which makes the taskbar look cleaner and organized. However, the main issue lies in the fact that you have to hover on your desired window to get on to them. At the time of writing, you need to tap the Ctrl key and click on the taskbar icon to open the last active window but you have to only click on the program’s taskbar icon after you apply the tweak given in this post for the last active window to open. Take note that the “Last Active” windows feature will only work if the taskbar buttons are combined. Before you get started doing the instructions given below, you need to create a System Restore Point first since you will be dealing with registry files and modifying some of the critical settings in Windows 10. Once you’ve done this, proceed to the given steps below. Step 1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Step 2: If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed to open the Registry Editor. Step 3: Next, navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced

Step 4: From there, right-click on the right side of the panel and select New > DWORD (32-bit) and then name it “LastActiveClick”. Step 5: After that, double click on the newly created DWORd to modify its value. Put “1” as its value data. Step 6: Then click OK and close the Registry Editor. Step 7: Now restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made. Note: In case you want to revert back to the default configuration, all you have to do is set the value data of LastActiveClick to “0” or simply delete that DWORD and restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Ever gotten an e-mail offer that seemed just a little bit too good to be true? Might’ve been a phishing attempt! These are everywhere and can come in many different forms. 

So what’s phishing exactly, how can you detect it and how can you keep safe?

What is phishing?

Phishing (pronounced like fishing) is a type of cyberattack that tricks the user into trusting the source and revealing sensitive information. Fishing being the perfect analogy, the bait is a legitimate-looking site, e-mail or file and when you take a bite, your identity, banking information and much more can be revealed and stolen.

Some phishing attempts are incredibly obvious, others are super elaborate. Like with most types of malware, cybercriminals have become extremely well-versed in phishing and anyone can fall for it. To help you recognize and avoid it, we’ll take you through a couple of phishing types and give you tips on what to do if faced with them.

Phishing techniques

E-mail phishing

This is actually the most common type of phishing. A cybercriminal creates an e-mail containing stuff like attractive offers, legitimate-looking attachments or links and makes it appear as though it’s coming from a trusted source.

For example, it looks like it’s coming from your bank or your favorite retailer. The logo looks legit and the structure of the e-mail seems familiar, so you might get tricked into clicking on whatever clickable content is in it.

Unfortunately this exposes your device to malware that hands your data off to the hacker, who can decide what to do with it further.

SMS and social media phishing

Like the above example, you could be approached with lucrative offers or links via text messages or social media messages. Typically, the messages seem relevant to the user as they will be made to look like they’re related to apps or services you’re using.

Voice phishing

Voice phishing attacks are schemes that appear as though they’re coming from a credible number. Normally, you’ll get a call about something related to credit cards or taxes to get you into a state of worry, leading you to disclose personal information on the phone.

Spear phishing, whaling and BEC

Spear phishing normally targets specific individuals within a company who are likely to have access to sensitive data. Spear phishers spend time collecting information they can use to reach out to the individual looking as trustworthy as possible. They’ll typically lead with something relevant, for example mentioning an upcoming company event, and make a seemingly legitimate request.

Whaling is a more elaborate form of spear phishing, which targets people in even stronger positions such as executives or high-value individuals. The ultimate goal is to get them to transfer financial or other sensitive information that can be used to compromise the entire business.

BEC, or Business e-mail compromise, is a specific spear phishing technique carried out via e-mail. While there are many ways this is done, most commonly you’ll see instances where the phisher poses as a CEO or similar executive, or as a lower-level employee in specific positions (e.g. sales managers or financial controllers).

In the first situation, the impersonator reaches out to employees requesting them to transfer certain files or pay invoices. In the second situation, the phisher takes control of the employee’s e-mail account and sends false instructions to other employees in order to obtain data and information from them.

What can you do?

There are many ways you can be aware and spot a phishing attempt. Here are some tips:

• Always check the sender’s address in your e-mails, even when they seem to come from a familiar source.
• In any instance where payment information is requested, be very, very careful.
• If you are receiving attachments you never asked for and definitely didn’t expect, better not click on them. 
• Beware of content that transmits a sense of urgency (sales deals, urgent updates to login credentials, etc.).
• Bad spelling and grammar are usually a telltale sign of phishing.
• Links that look shortened (e.g. Bit.ly) or just suspicious in general - if you have a bad feeling, do not click on them.
• If you are receiving threats, you probably shouldn’t be clicking on anything in that message.
• Always examine first-time senders in detail.
• Block suspicious e-mail addresses, numbers and social media accounts.
• If you are receiving a coupon for free stuff… You aren’t.
• If you’re being asked to update your payment details by a service you use, such as Netflix, chances are it’s an impersonator.

Those are some of the ways to identify and prevent phishing attacks. However, sometimes phishers disguise themselves a little too well or a misclick happens and there you go - you’ve been exposed to malware.

This won’t happen if you invest in powerful protection software from the get-go, though. A good antivirus program like Bitdefender will keep you safe from becoming a victim of phishing scams. In fact, it will protect you from malicious attacks overall.

Be it your household or your business you’re concerned about, there are a bunch of different packages and options available, providing different kinds of cybersecurity services. That’s the only way you can ever really be sure you aren’t at risk of a digital attack.

Summary

Have you ever been targeted by phishers and didn’t know that’s what it was until you read this article? Many can relate. Protect yourself before it’s too late!

As you know, Windows programs depend on several operations to get executed and at the same time, there are also numerous parameters that have to be fulfilled for a program to get executed. However, based on some reports, there was an error when some users tried to run a program. This error says, “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc00007b)”. There could be various reasons why this error occurs but the main one is most likely due to an x86 application that is not compatible with the x64-based operating system. To fix this problem, you can run the Check Disk utility or reinstall the application or the Microsoft .NET Framework. You can also try reinstalling DirectX or replace the corrupted DLL file(s). For more details, refer to the given options below.

Option 1 – Try running the Check Disk utility

• In the Windows Search box, type “command prompt” and from the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Partition Letter>: /f
• The command you entered will start to check for errors and fix them automatically. Else, it will throw an error message saying, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like the schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”.
• Tap the Y key to schedule Disk Check the next time your computer restarts.

Option 2 – Re-enable the Microsoft .NET Framework

You could also try to disable the Microsoft .NET Framework then enable the latest version of the .NET Framework on your PC and check if the error is fixed

Option 3 – Try to reinstall the program

There are times when some supporting module for your application under the hood could have messed up the application where you get the error. To fix this, you have to uninstall the program and then download its latest version from its official site and then install it again. Once you’re done, run the application and see if the error is fixed.

Option 4 – Run System File Checker scan

If reinstalling the program didn’t work, you can also try running the System File Checker or SFC scan to fix the error. System File Checker is a command utility built into your computer that helps restore corrupted files and missing files. Refer to the following steps to run it:

• Hit the Win + R keys 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 5 – Try running the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

Since the error has something to do with the DirectX Graphics APIs, you can run the DirectX Diagnostic tool to resolve the problem.

Option 6 – Try updating or re-installing DirectX

If the DirectX Diagnostic tool didn’t work, you can try to update or reinstall DirectX instead. This can help in fixing the problem because when you reinstall or update DirectX, it will replace the incompatible or corrupted components of DirectX from your computer.

In the latest Windows 11 fiasco, it is reported that the operating system is slowing down some SSD drives. Good thing is that it does not affect all of SSD on the market but the ones which it is affecting can see even a 45% of speed drop. Microsoft has not published a solution to this issue, but users point out two potential problems. The first is a security mechanism based on disk virtualization, which is supposed to slow down the performance of SSDs. The second, in turn, is related to the place of installation of Windows 11 – users indicate that if the performance test is performed on a medium with no files associated with the system, its performance results are similar to the parameters given by the manufacturer. Transfer speeds were to be slightly improved with the latest Windows 11 update 22000.348. However, users are still waiting for a solution to the problem that significantly reduces the efficiency of SSD media.

More information

The details described leading to speculation that the problem could be related to drivers that Microsoft is providing. On further tests, all Nvme drives that use the Microsoft driver have this problem, but Intel 905P, which has its own driver provided by Intel, is working at full power,”.

If you are following the latest gaming trends and spend a lot of time on social media, watching streams, etc. you might be under impression that gaming as a hobby is very expensive. If you plan to play the latest games on a very large screen in their highest setting that might be true but if you do not care about that you can still play games and spend much less money on them.

That being said we are here to share with you some tips and tactics on how to play good games with minimum money spent.

Do not buy games the moment when they are released

Buying a game on its launch date is maybe the worst and most expensive thing you can do. Games have their highest price on launch day but sadly with the current state of the industry, they are in their worst state as well. Games eventually became better over time after patches are released but so does their price drops after the hype has calmed down. So if you really must have some specific game on its launch day, go for it but know that by doing so you are getting the worst version of the game for its higher price.

Wishlist games and wait for the sale

All services today have a wishlist, very good and money-saving tactic is to wishlist interesting titles and wait for them to be on the sale. Services will usually have the option of sending you an email once your wishlist titles are on sale so you will be notified once they do. A good tactic as well is to wait for large sales like for example summer, winter, easter sales, or many other seasonal ones.

Get free games

Some online stores are offering free games from time to time and some are always offering some titles as gifts in order to get customers to their platform. EPIC has become famous for gifting some great titles over the past years completely for free and there are a lot of free-to-play games on each platform that you can play.

Get second-hand PC

Having a new computer is great but if your budget is tight you might consider getting your PC as a second hand instead of the new one. Hardcore games will switch components more frequently than your typical users and usually the components will be sold cheaper and be more affordable.

Play games on some older devices in general

Many games today are available on many platforms not only just on your typical PC. Same titles are available on your mobile phones, tablets, and even on your Android TV. Many titles will not even require the latest technology or monster of a computer in order to run them. You can also lower game settings and play many games on lower hardware if you do not mind not having top graphics settings.

Play over the cloud streaming

If you are very tight on budget but want to enjoy new games in their full glory there is always the option to play games via a cloud streaming service, it is not exactly a mega cheap option since it has a monthly fee but it is cheaper than some high-end gaming computer. If you combine this with the game pass you can enjoy the latest games with high-quality settings and pay it on a monthly basis.

Error Code 0xc00000fd - What is it?

In its most basic essence, Error Code 0xc00000fd appears when a program can not be initiated. It can occur when a file or program is corrupted, incompatible with the current version of the operating system, or out of date.

This error code occurs primarily in Windows but is also present in previous editions of the operating system. The symptoms of this error and the resolution methods for each of these systems are essentially resolved in the same way.

Common symptoms include:

• Failure of programs to open properly, even if they were able to be opened in the past
• The appearance of an error message stating that the application couldn’t be started correctly

There are several different things that Windows 10 users can do to try to fix the appearance of Error Code 0xc00000fd on their machine. Some of these methods are fairly simple for the average user, while others may require advanced knowledge and comfort with diving into the deeper tools and settings of the Windows operating system. If you have difficulty in implementing the methods below, contact a qualified Windows repair technician to assist you in the resolution of the error code.

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 0xc00000fd can arise when program files are not recognized properly by the operating system, when the operating system is no longer compatible with the program being run, when files are missing or corrupted, or when the program has been changed in a substantial way. Each of these causes requires a different method of resolution.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Several methods can be used to attempt to resolve Error Code 0xc00000fd on your computer. Basic users can use some of these methods, while others require familiarity with advanced tools and options in Windows. If you have trouble implementing the steps below, contact a qualified professional to assist you. Here are the top ways to deal with Error Code 0xc00000fd on your machine:

Method One:  Check for Updates using the Windows Update Tool

In some cases, compatibility issues can be resolved through updates and patches available directly from Microsoft via the Windows Update tool. This is most likely the case if you have not kept up with regular updates on your machine over time. In your settings, open up the Windows Update tool and run a scan to see if there are any required updates available for your programs or for the operating system itself. If there are updates, install them, then reboot your computer to make sure that all updates are able to be fully applied to your operating system. Attempt to open the program that caused the error after you are finished to see if this method addressed the problem fully or if an additional method needs to be used.

Method Two:  Roll Back to an Earlier Version of the Updates

Sometimes, an update can cause a compatibility issue. If you have previously been able to open the program in question without any problems, but have recently installed an update on your computer, that update may have been the source of the problem. If this is the case, roll your system back to an earlier stage of updates to see if that fixes the problem. If so, you may need to wait to reinstall the updates until Microsoft corrects the issue.

Method Three:  Run Scans on Your Registry, Antivirus Software, Drivers, and Update Troubleshooters

If there truly is a corrupted or missing file within the program that you are trying to run, you can open up several tools to scan for the file that may be causing the trouble and attempt to fix it. Run the following tools to try to fix the problems:

• Windows Registry Repair Tool (this particular tool may take some time to complete)
• Windows Update Troubleshooting Wizard
• Windows Drivers Updates
• Antivirus software or Microsoft Security Essentials

After running each of these tools, restart your computer to allow any necessary changes to be applied to your system. If the above methods do not fix error Code 0xc00000fd on your particular device or if you do not have the confidence and knowledge to implement these steps on your own, get in touch with a Windows repair professional who can help you to resolve the problem.

Method 4: Use An Automated Tool

If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 10 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.