As we near the end of 2022 we look at the current best antivirus software for popular platforms, why they are the best, and why you should get them.
Avira, a great free Antivirus
Avira has been around a long time with its free antivirus version of the larger protection suite. It had its ups and downs but the latest versions are really great. With high-speed scans and low system impact, Avira antivirus is really one of the best free antivirus software currently on the market.
The software itself has also received UI & UX updates making it straightforward and easy to use. The virus scanning engine is the same as in paid version that ranks among the top engines in the world for this type of work. The package also gives you some great browser protection and a good firewall as well, there is really no excuse to skip on this if you want a free solution.
The only thing that we would say is not so great in Avira is reporting some false positives, sometimes even for MS updates, it is rare but it can happen.
Malwarebytes, a powerful Windows antivirus
Malwarebytes Premium is easy to use, simple antivirus solution that shies away from complicated UI, and simply put, it just works. Its scanning engine is well-known and places among the top and best in the world often finding some malware that other can miss.
Another great thing is its integration with Windows itself, it is one of the rare applications that can and will work incredibly well beside your typical Windows protection tools so you can have both of them running at the same time.
Installation and running are really simple and every typical PC user will find it as easy as walking in the park. On the other hand, sadly system impact is a little high and it will have issues running on lower-end systems due to its memory requirements.
Intego MAC Internet Security X9, the best Mac antivirus
Gone are the days when MAC had no virus issues, since MAC rose in popularity among the users, also rose the number of viruses and malware. The system itself has some great protection built it inside but for more security and better control of it, you will need a third-party dedicated solution.
Intego was made by Mac antivirus experts who have been building this kind of software last 25 years. The interface is easy to use and premade presets are really helpful, but the security suite can also be customized to fit your needs and desires.
Since this is only available as a security suite, you are getting a firewall and some other security tools along with your antivirus that will run as a part of it.
The bad side is that scans can sometimes run slow, most of the time they are OK in terms of speed but occasionally they can switch to slower speeds and impact scanning time to some annoying times. Also, there is no webcam protection nor VPN service included where others on this list have them.
Bitdefender mobile security: best Android protection
While protection is not only needed for your gaming or workstation, software suites that are dealing with mobile and tablet security exist. The best of them is the Bitdefender antivirus mobile suite. Low on system resources and low on performance impact with the really great virus detection rate Bitdefender is at the top of suites for your phone.
Consistent high virus detection packed with low battery impact is great but the suite comes with tons of other tools as well like browser security tools, email protection, and real-time link and notification protection.
The application will always scan each file and newly installed application in the background and alert and cut off any found threat. App itself is easy to install and use and most of the time it will do everything in the background for you but offer you customization if you need it.
The package also includes VPN and application lock that will let you protect the critical applications from being accessed as well as an online account scanner. Anti-theft and anti-loss tools, which allow you to find, remotely lock or wipe a stolen or lost device, add yet another layer of protection.
One thing that is missing from this great package is fraudulent call protection. Newer Android phones have this feature inside but it would be nice if Bitdefender had it as well.
Bitdefender, the best antivirus software
Now that we have covered specific cases of each platform, there is one player that has all of them covered and with a quality product, that player is BitDefender and it is great. Personally, this is my protection suite of choice and as I type this it is running in the background.
Bitdefender has it all, low system impact, as a matter of fact, it is one, if not, the lowest performance impact engine on the market currently and that is packed with a great and highly consistent virus & malware detection suite. Along with real-time malware protection, browser security, and anti-spam tools, you also get anti-phishing defenses, ransomware protection, and a strong firewall.
Bitdefender scores are very high in both the zero-day threat and real-world protection tests at AV-Test, an established organization that tests antivirus software. Despite being tested against tens of thousands of well-known and widespread malware threats, the software consistently achieves a 100% blocking rate.
The suite also comes with a restricted free VPN and with parental controls as well. Webcam and microphone protection are also included in the suite and on top of all, it has great pricing plans and constant discounts.
BitDefender is really a great package and it might sound too good, but after years and years of personally using it I have not had single malware or virus issue, the only thing that I would put as a negative is that system is severely slowed down when system scans are performed so be sure to run or schedule them when you are not using your computer. This, of course, can put some people off and I will admit it is a serious drawback but for me, the security of my workstation is more important than leaving the computer for 20 or so minutes in order to perform a full scan of the system.
Error 0x00000024 can be seen when you start up and a screen comes up asking which mode you would startup in.
Regardless of the mode you select, it leads up to the Windows screen with the loading bar and your computer crashes from there onwards. When you press F8 in order to select the “Disable Automatic Restart On System Failure” option, that is when this error shows up:
Due to this error, both Safe and Normal modes become inaccessible.
Solution
Error Causes
If you’re having this error then it is the indication of an issue with the file NTFS.sys. Further, there might also be problems with the IRP (Interrupt Request Packet) or the disk may have been corrupted.
There are multiple other causes of this error, including heavy fragmentation of your hard drive or problems caused by your antivirus software.
Further Information and Manual Repair
First and foremost, you are suggested to run Chkdsk. In order to do this, you have to enter your BIOS and select CDROM as your primary booting device. Now follow the below-mentioned steps:
Insert your Windows XP installation CD into the CDROM and reboot your PC.
Press any key to proceed with the boot from CD when you are prompted to do so.
When the Windows XP setup menu shows up, hit the “R” key to proceed with repairing Windows.
If there is only one Windows installed on your computer then hit the “1” key and proceed by pressing enter. If there are more than two Windows then hit the number which is associated (according to the screen you are viewing) to the Windows you want to repair. Usually, this is C:/Windows and associated with “1” but if that is not the case then you should simply press the number that corresponds with the windows you want to repair and proceed.
Now, you will see a screen that prompts you to enter your administrator password. Most people don’t have an admin password and in that case, you should simply hit enter and you’d be good to go. If you do have an administrator password, however, then you should type it in, hit enter, and proceed.
When the DOS prompt shows up, type in chkdsk/f and hit return.
If you see no improvement in solving Error 0x00000024, and the problem keeps persisting, then you should start over. But this time you should type sfc/scannow instead of chkdsk/f and hit return.
There are a few other complex methods that you can try as well but this is the most recommended procedure as it is easier, quicker, and most likely to fix the error.
There are instances when the Windows 10 installation needs interaction before it reaches the file process. And so if you suddenly encounter the Windows Update Installation Failure 0x80240020 error under the Windows Update History, then you need to get it fixed.
When you encounter this kind of Windows Update Error, you will see an error message that says, “The operation did not complete because there is no logged-on interactive user”. This error also indicates the “WU_E_NO_INTERACTIVE_USER” code. To resolve this issue, in this post we’ll walk you through a couple of steps but before you get started, know that you don’t have to run any troubleshooter or delete any file just to fix this error since all you have to do is enable one option that can automatically login with your account and complete the installation for you. With that said, just make sure to only try running Windows Update once you’re told to do so.
There are two ways you can enable the option that could resolve the Windows Update Installation Failure 0x80240020 error. One is via Settings while the second one is via Registry Editor.
Option 1 – via Settings
Step 1: Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options.
Step 2: From there, toggle on the “Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device and reopen my apps after an update or restart” option.
Step 3: After that, it will make sure that the interaction part is removed from the Windows Update process.
Note: If your device is joined in a domain or if some work or email policies are applied to your device by your company or organization, then you wouldn’t be able to see this option in Settings and that’s where the Registry Editor comes in. Just make sure that you’re logged in as an administrator and that you create a System Restore Point first since registry hacks are sensitive and could highly impact how your computer behaves or functions. Once you have that covered, follow the steps below.
Option 2 – via Registry Editor
Step 1: In the Start search, type “Regedit” and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Step 2: Navigate to the following registry key:
Note: If the above-given registry key does not exist, you can simply create it. All you have to do is right-click on the WindowsUpdate key and then select the New Key option and type “OSUpgrade” as its name. Afterward, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it “AllowOSUpgrade” and set its value to 0x00000001.
Step 3: Restart your computer and check if the error is now fixed. And then try to update your Windows 10 computer again and while you’re at it, make sure that you’re around your computer to interact with the prompts needed to complete the installation process.
rtf64x64.sys Blue Screen error happens in random intervals but it is a regular occurrence, it can happen when playing games, when watching movies, or even when the computer is idle. in this article we will guide you on how to resolve this error from the most simple steps you could take and do not worry, altho the error seems dreadfully and scary, it is nothing to worry about.
If you can boot Windows normally after error great, proceed with instructions, else reboot into safe mode or use installation media to boot.
Use official Microsoft online troubleshooter
Microsoft has an online blue screen troubleshooter that was made specifically for this kind of situation. Go to Troubleshoot screen error and answer questions needed. Most of the time this will be enough to solve any blue screen issue.
Update network and sound drivers
How is this error traced back to Realtek devices, go to the Realtek website and download drivers. Install them and reboot the system.
Use a dedicated software solution
DRIVERFIX is an application made for these and other kinds of driver issues and problems, it is one click automated solution for driver fixing. Visit the Driverfix site and download the application
Perform system Restore
If you have not managed to fix the issue with previous steps roll back to a previous restore point when everything was working.
Replace network or sound card
If everything failed including system restore then it is likely that it is a hardware malfunction. Replace faulty components and you should not receive errors anymore.
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.
MSI.chm error is a common Windows Error code that occurs when the Windows OS becomes overloaded with invalid system references.
Solution
Error Causes
The MSI.chm error is normally triggered by the following causes:
Poor PC maintenance
You may experience the MSI.chm error if you don’t pay attention to its maintenance. This usually happens when you don’t run antivirus software or update programs and drivers frequently.
Registry files get corrupt and damaged
This error may also occur when the registry files of your PC get corrupt and damaged. This normally happens due to continuous writing, editing and deleting of information from your PCs registry over time as programs are installed, modified and deleted.
Other causes include: malware and system conflicts.
Further Information and Manual Repair
When you come across the MSI.chm error on your PC, it is advisable to repair it immediately without any delays. If you procrastinate in repairing this error, your PC is likely to be exposed to risks like:
Slow PC performance
System failure and crashes
Nonetheless, to resolve this error you don’t have to get the assistance of an IT professional. The MSI.chm is easy to repair and you can resolve it in no time even if you aren’t technically adept.
Here are some of the best ways to repair the MSI.chm error on your PC successfully in the shortest time:-
Cause: Corrupt and Damaged Registry Files
Quick Fix: If you think the MSI.chm Windows error on your system is related to Windows registry issues, then the best way to resolve this error is to download and install a Registry cleaner tool. A word of advice here is to always download such tools from a reliable and a trusted website.
Once you download the Restoro, run it on your PC to scan for errors. The scanning will usually take a couple of minutes. So, it is advisable to be patient. After the scanning is complete, you will see a detailed scanning report highlighting the registry errors on your PC.
Now to resolve the MSI.chm error that has occurred on your PC due to registry issues, click on the ‘Repair’ button to fix the error.
Once the repairing process is complete, restart your PC.
Restoro helps you not only fix the MSI.chm error but it also helps improve the speed of your PC, and protects it from failure and crashes.
Cause: Poor PC Maintenance
Quick Fix: If the cause of the MSI.chm error is poor PC maintenance, then the best way to resolve the error is to update the drivers. You can do this by installing the latest drivers for the devices that you think are now old and need to be updated.
Here’s what you need to do:
First find which devices don’t have drivers installed. For this go to the start menu and then click on the Control Panel. Now open the Device Manager. The Device Manager will list down all the devices that don’t have drivers installed with yellow exclamation point icons next to the device name.
As for the updates, the general rule of thumb if the driver does not support the program you are trying to run, then this means that you probably need to update the driver to ensure compatibility. For example your video card driver does not support a newly launched game, then you definitely need a driver update to play the game on your PC.
To install or update drivers on your PC, you can either get CDs from the market or you can download updated versions of the drivers from the main manufacturer’s website for free.
You can also use automated solution for all of your driver issues:So, next time when you or your friends encounter this problem, try these quick fixes to repair the error without any hassle.
Hello and welcome to our user account notifications in Windows 10 tutorial where we will dive a little more into how you can control notification and behavior settings for your or someone else's user account in your Windows 10.
If you are annoyed with confirmation windows each time you start a new application or install one please keep reading and I am sure you will find just the right setting for you.
User account options are a little hidden and not so obvious, well at least not in Windows 10 compared to previous Windows versions. Since we will not be able to find them under typical and standard settings we will need to do few tricks in order to get to them.
Opening control panel
First thing is to press ⊞ WINDOWS + R on your keyboard so the run dialog window pops up on your desktop.
Once run dialog is shown type in it control panel as shown in the picture and press OKIf you have followed the steps precisely, you should be now in the control panel of Windows 10. Click on the top-right view and choose large icons. The Control panel will switch to a grid-like view, in the current view go to the far-right and almost bottom icon where it says User Accounts and click on it.
User account settings
Once the user account opens click on the bottom link which says Change User Account Control settings. Please note that you will need to be logged in as an administrator or have administrator privileges in order to change this setting.
Once you click on the link you will be presented with a User account control slider on the left and a brief explanation on the right
Here in the picture, we see Windows default setting and an explanation of when and how he will notify you. If you wish to turn all notifications linked to programs changing computer or you making windows changes, click on the left slider and bring it all the way to the bottom where it says never notify me. If you prefer some notifications try to find which of the remaining 3 settings best suit your needs. Once you are done and satisfied with your choice click on OK.
Oh, gamers rejoice, the Steam autumn sale is just around the corner!!!
The sale starts on November 22nd and lasts until November 29th. A great deal for any gamer, especially for ones that have plenty on their wishlist. Speaking of wishlists now would be a good time to place some interesting titles on them so you can be notified about discounts on them.
If you by any chance are unavailable to participate in the Autumn sale, do not worry, Steam winter sale is coming on December 22nd and it will last until January the 5th so you can save for it.
The best tactic for sale is not to jump on the train right away, it is best to wait until a few days, maybe even until the last 2 days since some games can go even lower on discount in the last days of the sale. Also, there might be also some packages that include games you wish to buy but are packed with other ones in a bundle and even with a higher discount.
So get prepared for the upcoming sale and treat yourself to something nice!
Error 0x800706be is a Windows error code that pops up when a particular system file is having some issue. This error pops up on other Windows-compatible software as well as driver vendors. This error signifies a misconfigured or corrupted system file so you might encounter this error in different instances. For instance, this error might pop up when you click the audio icon from the system tray or when the Windows Upgrade or Update has failed. Needless to say, this error can be caused by different factors. Anyhow, this post will show you what you can do to fix the problem when the error pops up during a Windows Update or Upgrade. If you are seeing this error when you try to install the latest Windows updates, it will show a Windows Update failed message and you obviously won’t be able to update your Windows 10 PC until you fix this error. You will keep seeing this error even when you try to reboot or update it a couple of times.
As mentioned, the error code 0x800706be appears when there is something wrong with your system files – they are either corrupted or misconfigured. This error is most likely caused by the corrupted Windows Update Components. Corruption of these files is not unusual and it could happen anytime. So since the Windows Update files or components are corrupted, you won’t be able to successfully install the latest Windows Updates.
Here are some options you can try to fix the problem.
Option 1 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter
Running the Windows Update troubleshooter is one of the basic things to do when facing any kind of issue with Windows Updates. As long as it can it will detect the issue and automatically solve them so that there will be no need for you to do more technical steps to resolve the issue.
Tap the Windows and R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
Then type in “control.exe /name Microsoft.Troubleshooting” in the field and tap Enter to open the Windows Update Troubleshooter.
After that, click Windows Update and follow the next on-screen instructions.
Option 2 – Try resetting the Windows Update Components
This is another basic thing to do in fixing the error 0x800706be. It is also one of the solutions that mostly worked for users who also got this error when trying to install Windows updates. And since the problem is caused by corrupted Windows update components, the most logical thing to do is to delete old files and reset components.
To reset the Windows Update components, follow the given instructions below carefully.
Tap the Windows key once.
Then in the Windows Start Search, type in “command prompt”.
From the search results displayed, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option.
After that, type in “net stop wuauserv” and tap Enter.
Next, type in “net stop cryptSvc” and tap Enter.
Then type in “net stop bits” and tap Enter.
Type in “ren C:\Windows\Software\Distribution Software\Distribution.old” and then tap Enter.
Afterward, type in “C:\Windows\System32\catroot2\Catroot2.old” and tap Enter.
Next, type “net start cryptSvc” and tap Enter.
Then type “net start bits” and tap Enter.
Finally, type in “net start msiserver” and tap Enter.
Now close Command Prompt and then try updating Windows once more.
Recently, a number of Windows 10 users reported an issue wherein they try to print from their PCs but were unable to and got an error message instead that states, “Port in use, please wait”. However, no matter how long they waited, nothing changed and they were still unable to print from their computers.
On the other hand, when some of the users attempted to print wirelessly from their mobile devices, the printing continues which indicates that there is some issue between the computer and the printer. So if you are one of the users who are currently facing this problem, then this post should help.
To fix this issue with your Printer, here are some possible fixes you can try that might work.
Option 1 – Run the Printer Troubleshooter
The first thing you can do to fix the “Port in use, please wait” error is to run the Printer Troubleshooter. This built-in troubleshooter in Windows 10 can help you fix most print issues. It checks if you have the latest printer drivers and then tries to fix and update them automatically. Aside from that, it also checks if you have connectivity issues or if the Print Spooler and the required Services are running fine. To run it, follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “msdt.exe /id PrinterDiagnostic” in the field and click OK or hit Enter to open the Printer Troubleshooter.
Then click the Next button and follow the next on-screen instructions to fix the issue with the printer.
Option 2 – Try updating the Printer drivers
You might also want to try updating your printer drivers. All you have to do is locate the USB Composite Device. For complete details, follow the steps below.
First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
From there, look for the USB Composite Device option and right-click on it, and select the Update Driver from the options.
Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.
Note: You also have the option to download the latest version of your Printer from the manufacturer’s website.
Option 3 – Try selecting the correct port for your Printer
If the first two options given above didn’t work, then maybe it’s time to select a correct port for your printer since the wrong port has been selected which is why you’re getting the “Port in use, please wait” error.
Open “Devices and Printers” from the Start search.
Next, look for your printer from the list of devices and right-click on it, and then select Printer Properties.
Now go to the Ports tab under the newly opened Properties window and make sure that the port type matches the connection on the list of ports currently in use.
Note: If your printer is using a USB connection then the port should have a USB or DOT 4 in its description but if your printer is using a network connection then it should have the following description:
WSD
Network
IP
And if you notice that there are several listings for the same type of port, you have to change the selection to a different one and then click the OK button to save the changes made.
If you suddenly see a black border in your computer’s display then you might be wondering how come this happened but worry not for this post will give you a couple of suggestions that could help you resolve the problem.
The black bar could appear at the bottom or just the sides of the screen. Whichever it may be, there are options you can check out. Refer to the options givens below and make sure to follow them carefully.
Option 1 – Try checking the screen resolution
You might want to try checking the resolution of your screen.
Open the Windows 10 Settings and go to Display.
Next, go for the “100% (Recommended)” option under Scale and layout for the size of the text, apps, and other items.
After that, select the Recommended setting again under Resolution.
Now check to see if the black bars are still there. They should be gone at this point, but if for some strange reason nothing has changed, then attempt the steps below.
You might want to try updating your graphics and monitor drivers if you haven’t updated them for some time now. To do that, 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 Graphics drivers or the Monitor drivers and then click each one of them.
After that, right-click on each entry 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.
Note: You can also try to roll back the graphics and monitor drivers back to their previous versions if updating them didn’t work. You can also try visiting the manufacturer’s website and download the graphics or monitor driver setup for your operating system.
Option 3 – Try to run the DISM tool
You can also run the DISM Tool as it might also help in getting rid of the black border or bar on your Windows 10 computer. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth” which could help you resolve the problem.
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
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 4 – Troubleshot the problem in a Clean Boot State
There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing the Black border issue. To identify which program is causing the problem, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.
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.)
From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.
Error Causes
Once run dialog is shown type in it control panel as shown in the picture and press OK
If you have followed the steps precisely, you should be now in the control panel of Windows 10. Click on the top-right view and choose large icons. The Control panel will switch to a grid-like view, in the current view go to the far-right and almost bottom icon where it says User Accounts and click on it.
User account settings
Once you click on the link you will be presented with a User account control slider on the left and a brief explanation on the right
Here in the picture, we see Windows default setting and an explanation of when and how he will notify you. If you wish to turn all notifications linked to programs changing computer or you making windows changes, click on the left slider and bring it all the way to the bottom where it says never notify me. If you prefer some notifications try to find which of the remaining 3 settings best suit your needs. Once you are done and satisfied with your choice click on OK. 
