Afraid of the growing threats online? As you should be. But we’re here to show you what kinds of malware are out there and what you can do to keep them at bay.
Malware definition
Malware comes from the term malicious software. It’s software designed to attack and exploit devices and networks to the advantage of the hacker who made it.
Malware can be transmitted in different ways. Most commonly this happens via infected USB drives, downloadable files or malicious websites. Depending on the type and ultimate goal, the consequences of a malware attack can range from negligible to catastrophic.
Credit: Ed Hardie on Unsplash
What kinds of malware are there?
1. Virus
A virus is typically spread via infected files, websites or links. It’s one of the oldest malware types and one of the most difficult to get rid of. That’s because, once activated, it replicates itself - hence the name.
It can perform different kinds of attacks, depending on what the creator wants to achieve. The main characteristic of a virus is that it really doesn’t show itself until you activate the host. So that’s a scary thought for sure.
2. Adware
Sometimes an ad blocker isn’t enough to fight off unwanted ads. And some of them can, unfortunately, be malicious. They may redirect you to infected sites or prompt downloads of risky files. Even just opening a malicious site can lead to data theft.
So, definitely be careful when clicking around. Even if an ad seems completely legitimate, you can never be too sure.
3. Ransomware
Through ransomware, cybercriminals gain access to a user’s data and use it to extort them for money. Basically, the user is threatened with data deletion or even exposure if a ransom isn’t paid by a specific deadline.
This is a particularly nerve-wracking type of malware. If it targets an individual, it preys upon their sense of anxiety, fear, guilt and even shame. If it targets a business (which is a lot more common), it preys upon not only that business’s profit but also every single one of their customers and their data.
4. Trojans
This type of malware disguises itself very well as a legitimate-looking program. Once you download it, hackers can get full access and control of your device, data and network. They can even be hidden in games, apps and attachments. They cannot self-replicate, though, so we guess that’s… good news?
5. Worms
Worms can replicate, just like viruses, but you don’t need to actually activate the infected program for them to get going. They can be used for various purposes, ranging from data deletion to file encryption to support a ransomware attack.
Credit: Growtika on Unsplash
6. Spyware
Spyware refers to malicious software that stays hidden on your computer and monitors your activity. The best-known type is keyloggers. This can be used to steal sensitive data like passwords and banking information.
7. Rootkits
Rootkits are among the most dangerous types of malware. They allow administrative access and full control of a device, which lets hackers continue hijacking all your data and monitoring your activity without your knowledge.
8. Botnets
Botnets are networks made up of bots - computers that cybercriminals have infected with malicious software. Bots and botnets give hackers remote access to users’ devices and allow them to spy on your camera, take screenshots, memorize passwords and launch Distributed Denial of Service attacks. This one truly makes your hair stand on end.
What can you do about it?
You know the old adage - better safe than sorry. And trust us, malware attacks are such a pain in the you-know-what that you really don’t want to be sorry.
Luckily, there are simple solutions that can shield you from most digital threats these days. What you want to be looking at is a solid antivirus program. Well, technically, you need an antimalware program, but since the latter evolved from the former, we still mostly refer to them as antivirus software. The majority of antimalware programs these days don’t just shield you from potential risks online, but include additional features as well. For example, some Bitdefender antivirus packages also include parental control and a VPN. And Bitdefender is not just for PCs either - it offers protection for your beloved iPhone or Android as well. You can throw in a password manager in there too, for an additional layer of security.
Credit: Dan Nelson on Unsplash
If you aren’t too concerned about all these various threats or feel like you don’t need extra security, you can at least take a step to protect your information from being exposed to lurking cybercriminals as you’re browsing. This can be done through a good VPN like Surfshark, which hides your identity in the digital space and prevents your data from being tracked.
Choosing the right protective software is especially important if you have children with access to the Internet, since they’re unfortunately even more vulnerable to malicious attacks. If you aren’t sure what the right kind of antimalware program is right for you, you can reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help keep your entire household or office digitally secure.
The bottom line
The truth is that there’s no way to be 100% protected in the online world. Hackers are constantly coming up with new ways to infiltrate our devices. But malware-battling software evolves along with them and there’s still plenty you can do to keep risks away. Stay safe!
As previously announced by Google feature to quickly delete the last 15min of browsing history via one button is rolling out now.
For now, only Apple users will be available to use this feature but the Android update is scheduled for later this year, a strange move by Google but it is what it is.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with this feature, basically, Google wants a quick way to remove the last 15min of browsing history as a supposedly stated request to make deleting browsing history much easier.
Google came up with this idea so you can keep the previous history intact but remove just 15min time frame, no additional explanation was given on why 15 but I presume it is some round number that came up as the middle one with research, read telemetry info.
Using quick delete requires being signed into Search with a Google account. Users can access the option by simply tapping on the avatar icon to access the settings then choosing "Delete last 15 minutes."
As you probably know, uTorrent is one of the best software you can use to download torrents over the web. It has been around for many years now and is trusted by lots of users despite having competition here and there.
Over the years, uTorrent has changed as it is now packed with tons of features. What’s more, is that this program is no longer the smallest client when it comes to file size. However, just like other software, it is not always working smoothly as there are instances when it’s not responding even when it’s already running. The first thing you can do is to close all the processes of uTorrent and then try opening it again.
There are various reasons why your uTorrent program fails to respond. However, it is most likely caused by some virus that was brought on by the file you’ve just downloaded. On the other hand, it could also be caused by other factors as well but whichever the case is, here are some fixes you can check out to resolve the uTorrent issue.
Option 1 – Delete the file you’ve downloaded
As pointed out earlier, uTorrent might have failed to respond due to some file you’ve just downloaded which is why you have to delete it since there really is no point in keeping a file that’s causing this kind of issue. After deleting the file, try opening uTorrent again and see if it now works or not.
Option 2 – Allow uTorrent to run via Windows Defender Firewall
Click on the Cortana or the Start button and type “firewall” in the field.
From the search results that appear, click on the “Allow an app through Windows firewall”.
After that, a new window will pop up and from there, you will see a list of apps that can be allowed or disallowed using a Windows firewall. From this list, you have to search for uTorrent and once you find it, set it to Publick if you are on a public network or Private if you’re in a private network.
Option 3 – Uninstall or reinstall uTorrent software
You can also try to completely uninstall uTorrent from your computer and then reinstall it right back. to do so, follow the steps below.
In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
From there, look for uTorrent and select it and then uninstall it.
Once uTorrent is uninstalled, go to uTorrent’s official website and download its latest version.
Option 4 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender
Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.
As you know, the Win + X menu, which is the shortcut context menu, is a useful way to launch several utilizes in Windows such as Power Options, Windows PowerShell, Event Viewer, Device Manager, and so on. However, there are times when you might experience difficulty in identifying the required utility. This is actually a part of the Windows 10 shell that goes out of scope in the customization of Windows 10. However, there is an easy trick you can use to do that. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can rename the options in the Win + X menu in Windows 10.
In case you don’t know, the context menu is divided into three groups. Microsoft has categorized the bottom-most part as Group 1, while the middle part is categorized as Group 2 and the first part as Group 3. To rename these options, you need to use File Explorer and follow the instructions laid out below.
Step 1: First, tap the Win + E keys to open File Explorer.
Step 2: Next, navigate to this path: %LocalAppdata%MicrosoftWindowsWinX
Step 3: From there, you should see three folders as Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Open the appropriate folder of your choice.
Step 4: After that, right-click on the shortcut option you want to rename and then select Properties.
Step 5: Next, navigate to the Shortcut tab under the Properties window.
Step 6: Now in the text field of Comment, enter the new name of the option you selected.
Step 7: Click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
Note: You can now either Sign back in or sign out of your Windows 10 User Account to see the result of the changes you’ve made. You could also restart the process of File Explorer via Task Manager. This will close the File Explorer as well as the shell components and then only launch the shell components again. In addition, you can check the Win + X menu to see the customized name that you’ve just set for a particular option. As you can see, even though it does not add anything extra, it is still a lot better in knowing how you can customize it.
Hello and welcome everyone, just a few years ago we had FLASH video content on the internet, we had FLASH games, full FLASH website experiences, and more, but then flash was shut down mostly due to security reasons meaning that in just a few months we have lost most of FLASH web content.
However, there is still FLASH content on the internet even today, there are still FLASH videos and flash games, but we can not play any of that content since browsers do not support FLASH and you can not get the FLASH plugin for browsers. So what might be the solution for this situation?
Ruffle and FLASH emulation
Emulation of course. We will not be able to get the flash player working, well at least not the original and official one, but we can make flash content playable again inside our browsers.
The first thing is first, we need to get an emulator package from the internet in order for this trick to work, one we will be using is RUFFLE. It is lightweight, it is free, it is open source and it is reliable, everything we need.
Download RUFFLE from its official website here.
For Chrome and Edge download the ZIP package, for Firefox, go to the Firefox section of the tutorial.
There is also a desktop version of RUFFLE there so if you are keen on playing your flash content on your desktop computer you might well grab that as well, but for the sake of this tutorial where we are enabling flash in our browsers, we will not focus on that part since it is pretty straightforward.
Now once you have downloaded the RUFFLE emulator, please extract it to the desired folder somewhere on your computer.
Once it is extracted, start your browser of choice and follow instructions.
FOR CHROME:
Navigate to: chrome://extensions/
Turn ON developer mode in the top right corner
Click on Load unpacked
Navigate to the folder where you have extracted RUFFLE
FOR EDGE:
Navigate to: edge://extensions/
Turn ON developer mode on the bottom left corner
Navigate to the folder where you have extracted RUFFLE
Turn RUFFLE ON
FOR FIREFOX:
Go to the RUFFLEdownload page, we can not use the zip package we were using for Chrome and Edge
Right-click on the Firefox download link
Save link by clicking on Save link as...
Navigate to about: debugging
Click on this Firefox
Click Load Temporary Add-on
Select the .xpi that you have downloaded
BONUS:
If you want to enable FLASH content live on your website use: <script src="path_to_ruffle/ruffle.js"></script>
The MP4 MIME-type is a video type that is mainly configured in IIS or Internet Information console. It is the one that instructs a web browser to use the default video application when running MP4 files from websites. MIME which stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions which offers a way to identify files on the Internet-based on their format and nature. For example, when a content-type header value like MP4 is defined in an HTTP response, the browser can be configured to open the file with the proper plugin. However, there are some servers that don’t have an associated MIME type to support MP4 files and so they fail to play these files. In such cases, you will encounter the “Unsupported video type or invalid file path” error, especially when you use the Internet Explorer browser in Windows 10. To fix this problem, you may have to configure the MP4 MIME type in IIS but you might find that IIS is not enabled in Windows 10 which is why you need to turn it on or enable it first. For more details, refer to the following instructions below.
Step 1 – Enable IIS:
Open Control Panel and go to Programs > Programs and Features.
From there, select “Turn Windows features on or off” to mark its checkbox.
After that, select “Web Management Tools” and expand its menu and look for “IIS Management Console”.
Click the OK button and then wait for a couple of seconds to allow Windows to successfully apply the changes made.
Step 2 – Configure the MP4 MIME type in IIS:
Go to Control Panel and from there, access Administrative Tools.
Next, click “Internet Information Services Manager” from the list of given options.
Once confirmed, it will open the IIS console where you have to click the name of your IIS Server located on the left panel. This will enable several options in the central details section.
Now double click on the icon with the label “MIME Types”.
After that, you should see an “Add” link option on the right panel. Click on the link to open a configuration dialog box.
Then type “.mp4” in the File Name Extension field and enter “video/mp4” in the textbox of the MIME Type.
Click the OK button to save the changes made. This should fix the “Unsupported video type or invalid file path” error on your Windows 10 computer.
Step 3 – Reset your browsers:
Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the icon that looks like three stacked lines located at the top-right section of the browser.
Next, select the question mark icon from the drop-down menu.
Then select “Troubleshooting information” from the slide-out menu.
After that, click on the “Reset Firefox” button located at the top-right section of the newly opened web page.
Now select “Reset Firefox” in the confirmation pop-up window that appears.
Google Chrome
Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
After that, click on Settings.
Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
Now restart Google Chrome.
Internet Explorer
Launch Internet Explorer.
Next, click the wrench icon for Settings.
Then click Internet Options.
After that, go to the Advanced tab.
From there, click the Reset button. This will reset Internet Explorer’s settings to their default condition.
Hello and welcome to How To Speed Up PC Startup where we will explore how to make your PC boot-up system faster. When your computer gets older, you'll see a decrease in your PC's load time. This can be very annoying and frustrating, especially if you're not accustomed to exercising patience.
Your computer's boot time does not need to be sluggish, even if it's old.
While there are reasons why your computer is acting up and giving you the 'slow' sign, there are ways that you can optimize how fast your PC starts up at the beginning. Once you start speeding things up, you’ll never look back!
Start With your BIOS
You may need to tweak your PC’s start-up menu. Since the majority of issues encountered on your PC might not be related to the software running in the back end, you can focus on your computer's hardware.
The ideal way to speed up your PC startup is to access your computer's BIOS when booting up. This can be accessed by holding the DEL key or whichever button is used to tap into your BIOS.
You can change where your computer boots from. You can opt to put your hard disk right at the top which would elude searching for CDs and other storage media devices when your PC starts up.
Tweak Startup Programs
There are many programs that execute when your computer starts up. These programs normally run in the back end. Most times back-end programs are unnecessary and do not contribute to the productivity or performance of your computer when in use.
Instead of allowing these programs to execute when your PC boots up, why not disable them? By deactivating these programs, you'll be reducing the amount of CPU usage which will accelerate your PC performance.
Additionally, there are some installed programs that you never use. Instead of leaving these programs to occupy needed space on your computer system, you can uninstall these to create more room on your computer. This actually increases your PC startup speed.
Put Malware on a Leash
Malware and spyware can cause problems for your start-up. A slow computer is an indication that your computer is plagued by malware.
This affects your computer's boot time and whether or not it'll startup as quickly as you intend it to. If your computer gives you the 'virus alert', you need to download an antivirus program that will be able to eradicate all virus threats.
Be mindful of where you download antivirus programs since many of them are viruses or have viruses attached to them. Some viruses are tough on your computer.
This means that if an antivirus works for your best friend, it may not work for you. Since malware differs in functions and the havoc they cause, it's best to know what you're up against by doing research.
Clean Your Registry
You should also clean out your registry. The fewer unused registry keys you have lying around on your computer, the faster your computer will go.
Getting a good registry cleaner from a clean source can help tremendously, but be careful; registry cleaners have the potential to be very dangerous so make sure you backup everything on your computer and only download registry cleaners from a reliable source.
By implementing the above tips, you'll see quick improvements when using your computer.
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.
So far we probably all know what are good new and exciting features that W11 is bringing to the table, let’s talk now about features that will be removed and are not there but we had them in W10
Taskbar, do not worry, it is still there but it will be locked hard only to the bottom, people is removed, applications cannot customize areas and some icons will not appear in the system tray.
Start Menu, No more named groups, cannot be resized, live tiles are history and pinned apps and sites will not migrate
Tablet mode is completely removed
Touch keyboard will not dock or undock on screen sizes bigger than 18 inches
The timeline feature is no more
The wallet is also removed
Cortana is not active on first boot experience and it is no longer pinned to the taskbar
Desktop wallpapers are not synched anymore when using an MS account
IE is disabled, IE mode in edge here to fill the gap
Math panel is removed with math recognizer as separate install on demand
News and interests are now Windows Widgets
Quick status is no longer on the lock screen nor in the settings
S Mode exclusive only to Windows 11 home edition
Snipping Tool continues to be available but functionality has been replaced with the Snip & Sketch tool functionality.3D Viewer, OneNote for Windows 10, Paint 3D, and Skype won't be installed anymore on new systems. They remain available when systems are upgraded.
D3dx9_32.dll is basically a type of dynamic link library used to load and run different programs on the PC. The D3dx9_32.dll error message pops on the screen when this file is unable to load successfully. The error message is displayed in either of the following formats on the computer screen:
"The file d3dx9_32.dll is missing" "D3DX9_32.DLL is missing. Replace D3DX9_32.DLL and try again." "File d3dx9_32.dll not found""D3dx9_32.dll not found. Reinstalling might help fix this.""Missing component d3dx9_32.dll"
This error usually pops while using gaming software. The D3dx9_32.dll error is displayed after a game is loaded or before the game-play begins. However, it may also appear in software that uses advanced graphic features.
Solution
Error Causes
D3dx9_32.dll error may occur due to multiple causes. These include:
The problem is related to Microsoft DirectX software. This software includes the D3dx9_32.dll file in its software collection.
Incompatible Video Card Drivers
Improper game installation
DLL File Corruption
Registry issues
Viral infection
Further Information and Manual Repair
To avoid inconvenience, it is advisable to fix the error right away. To resolve it you don’t need to be a technical whiz or hire a technician. Luckily, the D3dx9_32.dll file error is quite easy to fix. Here are some of the best and effective DIY methods that you can try to remove the error:
Method 1 - Install the Latest Version of DirectX
Since D3dx9_32.dll error is related to DirectX software, it is advisable to make sure that you have the latest version of this software installed on your PC.
To install the updated version, simply go to Microsoft’s official website, download the software from there and install it on your PC. To activate changes, restart your computer.
Method 2 - Uninstall and then Re-install Gaming Application
If the error still persists, then the reason for it could be the gaming application. Sometimes D3dx9_32.dll error may also occur due to poor program installation.
Therefore, in this case it is recommended that you first uninstall the program by going to the Add/Remove program option. And once the program is uninstalled, try re-installing it on your PC. Hopefully, it will remove the error.
Method 3 - Restore the Damaged/Corrupt D3dx9_32.dll File
The error may also pop due to the damaged or corrupt D3dx9_32.dll file. This indicated registry issues.
When the registry becomes overloaded with unnecessary and obsolete files, there is not enough space for other files to store. Due to the poor registry maintenance, the system and dll files are often damaged. To restore the damaged D3dx9_32.dll file, you need to clean the registry first.
You can do this manually, but that will be quite time-consuming and slightly technical.
Therefore, download a registry cleaner. A registry cleaner scans all registry-related errors and removes them right away. It cleans the registry and restores the damaged dll files.
Method 4 - Scan for Viruses
If the D3dx9_32.dll error is triggered by viruses, then it is advisable to scan your PC with an antivirus. It will scan and removes all viruses from your system.
Whether D3dx9_32.dll error is related to registry issues or viral infection, download Restoro.
It is a cutting-edge, advanced, and multi-functional PC Fixer. A one-stop solution for all PC-related issues. It is deployed with a powerful registry cleaner, an antivirus, a system optimizer and several other scanners.
The registry cleaner detects and removes all registry errors and repairs damaged Dll files including D3dx9_32.dll file and simultaneously the antivirus utility scans your entire PC for all types of malicious software infecting your system including spyware, Trojans, adware and malware.
The system optimizer feature ensures your PC works at its optimal level.
Restoro PC Fixer is safe and efficient. It has a user-friendly interface which makes it quite easy for all levels of users to operate. In just a few simple clicks, errors are resolved.
In addition to this, you can download it on all Windows PC. It is compatible with all Windows versions.
Click here to download Restoro and resolve D3dx9_32.dll error code on your PC today.
As previously announced by Google feature to quickly delete the last 15min of browsing history via one button is rolling out now.
For now, only Apple users will be available to use this feature but the Android update is scheduled for later this year, a strange move by Google but it is what it is.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with this feature, basically, Google wants a quick way to remove the last 15min of browsing history as a supposedly stated request to make deleting browsing history much easier.
Google came up with this idea so you can keep the previous history intact but remove just 15min time frame, no additional explanation was given on why 15 but I presume it is some round number that came up as the middle one with research, read telemetry info.
Using quick delete requires being signed into Search with a Google account. Users can access the option by simply tapping on the avatar icon to access the settings then choosing "Delete last 15 minutes." 
Hello and welcome everyone, just a few years ago we had FLASH video content on the internet, we had FLASH games, full FLASH website experiences, and more, but then flash was shut down mostly due to security reasons meaning that in just a few months we have lost most of FLASH web content.
However, there is still FLASH content on the internet even today, there are still FLASH videos and flash games, but we can not play any of that content since browsers do not support FLASH and you can not get the FLASH plugin for browsers. So what might be the solution for this situation?
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. 
So far we probably all know what are good new and exciting features that W11 is bringing to the table, let’s talk now about features that will be removed and are not there but we had them in W10
