The best Antivirus software of 2021

Gaming Wonderland is a Browser Extension for Google Chrome developed by Mindspark. This extension allows you to look up some popular browser games, as well as to find multiplayer games. When installed it changes your default search provider and your default home page to MyWebSearch. While browsing the internet, this extension will gather your browsing information, website visits, clicks, and other information that is later sent to Mindspark ad servers and used to better target ads.

While using this extension you will see additional unwanted ads appearing throughout your browser sessions.

Due to the nature of this application and the fact that it has been marked as a Browser Hijacker by several anti-virus scanners, it is not recommended to keep it on your computer.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking means that a malicious code has power over and modified the settings of your internet browser, without your consent. They are made to disrupt browser functions for a variety of reasons. These are generally used to force visitors to a specific site, manipulating web traffic to generate ad revenue. It may appear harmless, but the majority of such sites are not legitimate and will present a serious risk to your online safety. As soon as the program attacks your computer or laptop, it begins to mess things up a whole that slows your system down to a crawl. In the worse case, you could be pushed to tackle serious malware threats as well.

Browser hijacking symptoms

When your web browser is hijacked, the following could happen: you find unauthorized modifications to your web browser’s home-page; new bookmarks pointing to pornographic websites have been added to your bookmarks; default web engine is changed; you are finding browser toolbars you haven’t noticed before; unstoppable flurries of popup advertisements show up on your PC screen; your browser gets slow, buggy, crashes quite often; you’re prohibited access to specific websites, including the site of an anti-malware software firm like SafeBytes.

How does a browser hijacker infect a PC

Browser hijackers might use drive-by downloads or file-sharing websites or even an e-mail attachment in order to reach a targeted computer. They could also be deployed through the installation of a web browser toolbar, add-on, or extension. A browser hijacker can also be installed as a part of freeware, shareware, demoware, and pirated programs. A good example of a notorious browser hijacker is the latest Chinese malicious software called “Fireball”, which has attacked 250 million PCs worldwide. It works as a hijacker but can be turned into a fully functioning malware downloader later on. Browser hijackers will affect the user’s browsing experience severely, keep track of the websites visited by users and steal private information, cause problems in connecting to the net, and eventually create stability issues, making applications and computers freeze.

Browser Hijacker Malware – Removal

Some kinds of browser hijackers can be removed from your computer by deleting malicious software applications or any other recently added shareware. At times, it can be a tough task to discover and get rid of the malicious component since the associated file might be running as part of the operating system process. Novice PC users should not try for the manual form of removal, since it calls for thorough computer knowledge to do fixes on the system registry and HOSTS file. Installing and running antivirus applications on the affected system will automatically erase browser hijackers and also other unwanted applications. Safebytes Anti-Malware incorporates a cutting-edge anti-malware engine that will help you prevent browser hijacker infection in the first place, and clean up any existing problems. Use a system optimizer together with your antivirus software to fix various registry problems, remove system vulnerabilities, and boost your computer's overall performance.

Help! Malware Blocking Antivirus Installation And Access To The Web

Viruses can cause plenty of damage to your PC. Some malware variants alter internet browser settings by adding a proxy server or change the PC’s DNS settings. In such cases, you will be unable to visit certain or all websites, and therefore not able to download or install the required security software to eliminate the malware. So what you should do if malware keeps you from downloading or installing Safebytes Anti-Malware? There are a few actions you can take to circumvent this issue.

Use Safe Mode to resolve the issue

In Safe Mode, you may change Windows settings, uninstall or install some programs, and remove hard-to-delete viruses and malware. In case the virus is set to load immediately when the PC starts, shifting into this mode may well prevent it from doing so. To boot into Safe Mode, press the “F8” key on the keyboard right before the Windows logo screen appears; Or right after normal Windows boot up, run MSCONFIG, look over Safe Boot under Boot tab, and then click Apply. Once you’re in safe mode, you can try to install your antivirus program without the hindrance of malicious software. At this point, you can actually run the antivirus scan to get rid of viruses and malware without any interference from another malicious application.

Switch to an alternate internet browser

Some viruses might target vulnerabilities of a specific browser that obstruct the downloading process. If you seem to have a trojan attached to Internet Explorer, then switch to an alternate browser with built-in security features, such as Firefox or Chrome, to download your favorite antivirus program – Safebytes.

Create a bootable USB antivirus drive

Another solution is to save and run an antivirus software program completely from a USB drive. Adopt these measures to run the anti-malware on the infected computer. 1) On a virus-free computer, install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Connect the USB drive to a USB port on the clean computer. 3) Double-click the Setup icon of the antivirus software to run the Installation Wizard. 4) Select the drive letter of the flash drive as the place when the wizard asks you exactly where you want to install the antivirus. Follow the activation instructions. 5) Unplug the USB drive. Now you can use this portable anti-virus on the affected computer. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the USB drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Simply click “Scan Now” to run a complete scan on the infected computer for viruses.

Detect And Remove Viruses With SafeBytes Anti-Malware

If you are looking to download the anti-malware program for your PC, there are various tools on the market to consider however, you cannot trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is paid or free program. A few are really worth your money, but most aren’t. You must opt for a company that creates industry-best antimalware and has earned a reputation as reliable. On the list of strongly recommended software is SafeBytes AntiMalware. SafeBytes carries a good track record of quality service, and customers appear to be happy with it. SafeBytes anti-malware is trustworthy software that not only protects your system completely but is also quite user-friendly for people of all skill levels. Using its outstanding protection system, this tool will automatically detect and eliminate most of the security threats, including browser hijackers, viruses, adware, PUPs, trojans, worms, and ransomware.

SafeBytes anti-malware takes computer protection to a totally new level with its advanced features. Below are some of the features you might like in SafeBytes.

Anti-Malware Protection: This deep-cleaning anti-malware software program goes much deeper than most anti-virus tools to clean out your personal computer. Its critically acclaimed virus engine locates and disables hard-to-remove malware that hides deep within your personal computer. Real-time Protection: SafeBytes delivers complete and real-time security for your PC. It’ll constantly monitor your pc for hacker activity and also provides end-users with sophisticated firewall protection. Website Filtering: SafeBytes gives an instant safety rating to the pages you are going to visit, automatically blocking unsafe sites and making sure that you are certain of your safety while browsing the net. High-Speed Malware Scanning Engine: SafeBytes’s high-speed malware scanning engine lessens scan times and extends battery life. Simultaneously, it will effectively find and get rid of infected computer files or any internet threat. Low CPU/Memory Usage: SafeBytes is well-known for its low impact on processing power and great detection rate of various threats. It runs silently and efficiently in the background so you are free to utilize your personal computer at full power all the time. 24/7 Premium Support: You can get 24/7 technical assistance to quickly resolve any issue with your security software. To sum it up, SafeBytes Anti-Malware provides outstanding protection combined with very low system resource usage with great malware prevention and detection. You now may know that this tool does more than just scan and remove threats from your PC. If you’re searching for the absolute best malware removal application out there, and if you don’t mind spending a few bucks for it, go for SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you would like to do the removal of Gaming Wonderland manually instead of using an automated software tool, you may follow these measures: Go to the Windows Control Panel, click the “Add or Remove Programs” and there, select the offending application to uninstall. In case of suspicious versions of browser plug-ins, you can easily get rid of it through your web browser’s extension manager. You may even want to reset your home page and search engine providers, and also delete temporary files, browsing history, and cookies. In order to ensure the complete removal, manually examine your hard drive and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Having said that, editing the Windows registry is really a difficult job that only advanced users and professionals should try to fix it. Furthermore, some malicious programs have the capability to defend against its deletion. It is advisable that you do the removal procedure in Windows Safe Mode.

If you are starting to get into the “wonderful” world of coding there is a high chance that you have heard of GitHub or Git for short and there is a slight chance that you might be confused about what exactly GitHub is. If this is the case, we are welcoming you to go through our article and find everything about it and why it is so popular and used all around the world.

What exactly is GitHub?

If we want to go all technical and just point the obvious we could say that GitHub is basically a WEB site and cloud service used for storing and managing code in all languages. But to truly understand why you should use GitHub and not Dropbox or any storage service instead you need to understand concepts like Version Control and Git.

Version Control

Version control is meant to help developers to work separately on different parts of codes and update is separately not breaking the original one. Take note that this option is meant when there is a big project and has more than one coder working on it. If you are a solo coder on your personal project this might not be anything groundbreaking for you personally. But let’s now assume that you are part of a team and that your task is to edit only one function of a project and other people working will also have their tasks. With version control, you could take only part of the code and work on it and once you are finished merge it back into the main repository. All changes in the main code are automatically tracked and can be easily reverted back if needed. The good stuff is that rolling back can be used only let’s say on a code you submitted and other changes made to the source can be kept. As you can see this makes a very good and efficient working space and a good coding environment.

Git

Git itself is a specific version control system, an open-source version control system to be more precise created by Linus Torvalds in 2005. It is a distributed version control system, which means that the entire codebase and history is available on every developer’s computer, which allows for easy branching and merging. Currently, over 87% of worldwide developers are using Git on a daily basis.

So GitHub is?

GitHub is a profit company that offers a cloud-based Git repository hosting service, in other words, it automates and makes it easy for everyone to use Git for version control and collaboration. It focuses on user interface and ease of use so even beginner coders can use it right away without any large confusion and using command lines and setting it themselves manually. GitHub also has a free personal plan in which you can host a public code repository completely free. This option placed GitHub very popular with open source projects. If you are a company you can purchase a plan to have a private code repository shared only to members of your team or company.

Conclusion

As stated almost every developer on a planet uses some version of Git, many of them are on GitHub and there is a lot of open source projects on it. Some employers even ask to see your GitHub repository when deciding if they want to employ you, think of it as a portfolio for coders. There is not a single disadvantage and not a single argument against using it, especially it has a personal free option. So if you want to look better and more professional in the coding world go, make an account and place some code on it, share it with the world, and see how it goes. You might even get some help on projects from other coders if you need it.

As you can notice in Blue Screen errors, most of them point out a file that’s related to the errors. One of these files is the Storport.sys file which is a system file related to the storage of data in the storage unit of a computer. This file is created by the Microsoft Storage Port Driver. So if this file ends up getting dragged on Blue Screen errors, there can be a number of reasons for why it’s happened. Blue Screen errors related to the Storport.sys file may include conflicts with the hardware, incompatible firmware issues, corrupted drivers, missing or corrupted system files, to name a few. Here are some of the common Blue Screen errors related to the Storport.sys file:

• KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
• KERNEL DATA INPAGE
• PAGE FAULT IN A NONPAGED AREA
• SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
• SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION

Microsoft Windows is the one that provides the Storport.sys file a storage port driver that is suited especially for the use of high-performance buses like fiber channel buses and RAID adapters. There are a number of advantages in using Storport instead of the SCSI Port, according to Microsoft:

• “Improved performance, both in terms of throughput and the system resources that are utilized.
• Improved Miniport driver interface that addresses the needs of high-end storage vendors, particularly host-based RAID and fiber channel vendors.”

If you encounter any of the above-mentioned Blue Screen of Death errors, then here are some troubleshooting options that might help but before you get to them, you can try to perform a System Restore first especially if you have the habit of creating System Restore points. This might fix the problem. To perform a system restore, refer to these steps:

• First, 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.

If System Restore didn’t help in fixing the Blue Screen error, now’s the time for you to resort to the troubleshooting tips provided below but before you get started, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. In addition, you also have to boot into Safe Mode with Networking before you carry out the troubleshooting steps below.

Option 1 – Try to update or rollback your device drivers

The first thing you can try to fix the Storport.sys Blue Screen error is to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties. Note that the main drivers that might be the cause behind the Storport.sys Blue Screen error will be listed under the “ID ATA/ATAPI controllers” section as well as the “Storage controllers” section.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Note: You can also directly download the relevant drivers of your computer from the manufacturers’ website. So if you have an SSD, the issue might be due to an old storage driver. Option 2 – Try to recreate the Storport.sys file If the first option didn’t work, the next thing you can do is to recreate the Storport.sys file. Every time your Windows 10 PC boots up, it looks for all the system drivers in place and if it is unable to find them, it tries to create them. This is why if you remove your corrupt driver file, chances are, you might get a fixed file recreated just for you. How? Refer to the steps below.

• Boot your Windows 10 PC in Safe Mode.
• Then open File Explorer and navigate to this location: C:/Windows/System32/drivers
• From there, look for the file named sys and rename it to Storport.old.

Note: As you can see, the file’s extension has changed from .sys to .old.

• Now restart your computer and check if the Storport.sys Blue Screen error is now fixed.

Option 3 – Run 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.

Option 4 – Try to run the DISM commands

You might want to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also trigger the Storport.sys Blue Screen error. To repair these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM commands:

• Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
• After that, input each one of the commands listed below sequentially to execute them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the dxgkrnl.sys Blue Screen error is now fixed.

Option 5 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

Troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death errors wouldn’t be complete without the Blue Screen troubleshooter. As you know, it is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like Storport.sys. It can be found on the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
• Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.

InternetSpeedTracker is a browser extension developed by MindSpark Inc. This browser add-on offer uses tips on how to boost their “bad” internet connection speed. It displays false internet speed in order to get you to open the sponsored links listed in the toolbar.

This extension also hijacks your browser home page and replaces your default search engine with MyWay. While browsing the internet you will see additional unwanted sponsored ads and links throughout your search results, and sometimes even pop-up ads might appear. While active this extension gathers personal information, website visits, links, and clicks and uses this data to serve ads.

InternetSpeedTracker has been flagged as a Browser Hijacker by several anti-virus scanners, and due to its data mining behavior, it is not recommended to keep it on your computer, especially because it gives false data about your internet speed.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijack is a very common type of online fraud where your internet browser settings are modified to allow it to carry out things you don’t intend. They’re created to disrupt browser functions for several purposes. It redirects you to the sponsored sites and inserts ads on the web browser which helps its developer generate earnings. Nevertheless, it’s not that naive. Your web safety is jeopardized and it is also extremely irritating. They don’t just ruin your web browsers, but browser hijackers could also modify the computer registry, making your PC vulnerable to other attacks.

How one can know if your web browser is hijacked

Signs that an internet browser is a hi-jacked include: the browser’s home-page is modified; you find yourself regularly directed to a different site than the one you meant; the default search engine is changed; unwanted new toolbars are added to your web browser; never-ending pop-up ads show up and/or your browser pop-up blocker is disabled; your web browser starts running sluggishly or displays frequent glitches; You simply can’t access specific sites, particularly anti-virus sites.

How they infect PCs

A browser hijacker can be installed on your computer when you check out an infected website, click an e-mail attachment, or download something from a file-sharing website. They are usually included with toolbars, BHO, add-ons, plugins, or browser extensions. A browser hijacker could also be installed as a part of freeware, shareware, demoware, and fake programs. A good example of a notorious browser hijacker is the most recent Chinese malware known as “Fireball”, which has attacked 250 million computer systems worldwide. It acts as a hijacker but can be turned into a fully functioning malware downloader afterward. Browser hijackers could affect the user’s browsing experience greatly, keep track of the websites visited by users and steal private information, cause difficulty in connecting to the internet, and ultimately create stability issues, making software programs and systems freeze.

How to repair a browser hijack

Some hijackers could be removed by uninstalling the freeware they came with or by eliminating any extension you have recently added to your system. But, many hijackers are hard to get rid of manually. No matter how much you attempt to eliminate it, it can keep coming back over and over again. And there’s no denying the fact that the manual fixes and removal methods can be quite a complicated job for a rookie PC user. Furthermore, there are several risks connected with fiddling around with the system registry files.

What you can do if Virus Stops You From Downloading Anything?

Malware could cause all kinds of damage after they invade your system, ranging from stealing your private information to deleting data files on your computer system. Certain malware variants modify web browser settings by adding a proxy server or modify the computer’s DNS configuration settings. In such cases, you’ll be unable to visit some or all of the websites, and thus not able to download or install the necessary security software to remove the infection. If you’re reading this article, chances are you’re stuck with a virus infection that is preventing you to download or install the Safebytes Anti-Malware program on your PC. There are some fixes you can try to get around with this issue.

Install antivirus in Safe Mode with Networking

If the malware is set to load at Windows startup, then booting in Safe Mode should prevent it. Since only the minimal programs and services start-up in safe mode, there are rarely any reasons for issues to take place. Listed below are the steps you should follow to start your computer into the Safe Mode of your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers (visit Microsoft site for instructions on Windows 8 and 10 PCs). 1) At power on/start-up, tap the F8 key in one-second intervals. This will bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Select Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and hit Enter. 3) As soon as this mode loads, you will have an internet connection. Now, utilize your web browser normally and navigate to https://safebytes.com/products/anti-malware/ to download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 4) Right after the software program is installed, let the diagnostic scan run to remove trojans and other malware automatically.

Switch to an alternate web browser

Web-based viruses can be environment-specific, aiming for a particular internet browser or attacking specific versions of the browser. The best solution to avoid this issue is to opt for a browser that is known for its security features. Firefox comprises built-in Phishing and Malware Protection to keep you safe online.

Run anti-virus from a pen drive

Another technique is to download and transfer an anti-malware application from a clean PC to run a scan on the affected computer. Follow these steps to use a flash drive to clean your infected system. 1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or Microsoft Windows Defender Offline onto a clean PC. 2) Insert the pen drive on the same system. 3) Double-click the Setup icon of the anti-malware software package to run the Installation Wizard. 4) Pick a USB flash drive as the place when the wizard asks you exactly where you would like to install the application. Follow the instructions on the computer screen to complete the installation process. 5) Now, transfer the pen drive to the infected computer. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the thumb drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Click the “Scan” button to run a full system scan and remove malware automatically.

Let's Talk About SafeBytes Anti-Malware!

Want to install the best anti-malware application for your laptop or computer? There are many applications available in the market which comes in free and paid versions for Windows computers. Some of them are great and some are scamware applications that pretend as legitimate anti-malware programs waiting to wreak havoc on your PC. When looking for an antimalware program, pick one which gives reliable, efficient, and total protection against all known viruses and malware. One of the recommended tools by industry leaders is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, the most dependable program for Windows computers. SafeBytes anti-malware is a reliable tool that not only secures your system permanently but is also quite user-friendly for people of all ability levels. This application could easily identify, remove, and protect your personal computer from the most advanced malware attacks such as spyware, adware, trojan horses, ransomware, worms, PUPs, and other possibly damaging software applications. SafeBytes has excellent features when compared to other anti-malware programs. Below are a few of the great ones: World-class AntiMalware Protection: Built upon a greatly acclaimed anti-virus engine, this malware removal application can identify and remove numerous obstinate malware threats such as browser hijackers, PUPs, and ransomware that other common antivirus applications will miss. Live Protection: SafeBytes gives real-time active supervision and protection from all known viruses and malware. They’re very effective in screening and eliminating different threats because they are regularly improved with new updates and alerts. Web Security: SafeBytes provides an instant safety rating on the web pages you are going to visit, automatically blocking risky sites and making sure that you are certain of your safety while browsing the internet. Very Low CPU and Memory Usage: SafeBytes provides complete protection from online threats at a fraction of the CPU load due to its enhanced detection engine and algorithms. Premium Support: SafeBytes provides 24/7 technical support, automatic maintenance, and updates for the best user experience.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you wish to manually remove InternetSpeedTracker without the use of an automated tool, it may be possible to do so by removing the program from the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of browser extensions, going to the browsers AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You will likely also want to reset your browser. To ensure the complete removal, manually check your hard drive and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Please note that this is for advanced users only and may be difficult, with incorrect file removal causing additional PC errors. In addition, some malware is capable of replicating or preventing deletion. Doing this in Safe Mode is advised.

The following files, folders, and registry entries are created or modified by InternetSpeedTracker

Error Code 46 – What is it?

Error Code 46 is a device driver error that occurs when Windows fails to access the connected peripheral device to the computer as Windows is in a process of shutting down.

Users experience this error on any Windows 2000 and later operating system versions and usually see a pop-up with the following message:

“Windows cannot gain access to this hardware device because the operating system is in the process of shutting down. (Code 46)”

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 46 is caused when there is a temporary problem with windows system files which prompts that the system is undergoing a shut down when in fact is it not.

This prevents access to the connected devices. This error may also be caused by a registry issue in which case it has either become corrupted or damaged.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Unlike all other Windows error codes, code 46 is relatively easy to fix with the right knowledge and does not pose any serious threat to the well-being of your PC. Here is how you can do it.

Method 1 – Restart your PC

The simplest method to resolve Error Code 46 is to run a restart of your computer.

The error is most commonly a temporary registry glitch that prevents you from accessing the device connected to your computer. Upon restarting your computer, it will resume working properly as before.

There is no need to run a troubleshooting wizard, use system restore, or run anti-virus software to scan and remove malware or spyware. A simple restart is all that is needed.

Method 2 – Install DriverFIX

Although the error code can be resolved upon restarting the computer, there’s a possibility of damaged or corrupted Windows registry files. This can be fixed by using a program like DriverFIX.

DriverFIX, with its user-friendly approach to help you fix your PC issues, comes with an integrated database that detects which drivers you need to reconfigure within just a few seconds and downloads it automatically.

It further ensures that your drivers are installed in their entirety leaving no room for any corrupted or damaged registry.

Error Code 46 may not be much of an issue, however, to prevent any risk of a Windows system corruption can be disastrous for your computer.

DriverFIX helps you fix your PC registry and device driver problems with user-friendly software and an integrated database. The database which consists of detailed information on what device driver needs to be installed will automatically download the required device driver without you need to refer to your hardware instruction manual.

Registry problems resulting from incomplete program installations and viruses such as malware and spyware damaged registry files. This affects your PC in serious ways.

DriverFIX further has an automatic backup and restoration system that helps create system ‘checkpoints’ which allow you to roll back to a healthier state and resume operations. This can help you avert any Windows error codes in the future.

Click here to download DriverFIX now!

Error Code 12 - What is it?

Error code 12 is a typical Device Manager error code. It usually pops on the computer screen when the computer experiences device driver problems or system resource conflicts.

Error code 12 is mostly displayed on the computer screen in the following format:

‘This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system.’

Solution

Error Causes

The error code 12 occurs when 2 devices installed on your PC are accidentally assigned the same I/O (input/output) ports or the same direct memory access channel.

This assignment is known to be made either by BIOS (Basic Input/output system) or by the operating system. It can sometimes be assigned by a combination of the two. Also, code 12 can also appear on your monitor screen if the BIOS didn’t allocate enough resources to the device.

Although this error code is not fatal, it is nonetheless advisable to fix it immediately to avoid inconvenience and hassle. This error is most likely to lower and hamper the performance of your system.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Here are some of the easiest and most effective do-it-yourself methods to resolve error code 12 on your PC. To perform these fixes, you don’t have to be technically sound or a computer programmer for that matter. Simply follow the steps to fix the problem right away.

Method 1 - Use the Troubleshooting Wizard to identify the Conflict

To repair error code 12, simply go to the start menu and type Device Manager in the search box. Now go to the Device Properties dialog box. After that click on the ‘General Tab’ and now access Troubleshoot to start the Troubleshooting Wizard.

The Wizard will ask you some questions and provide you a solution accordingly. Follow the instructions and resolution steps provided by the troubleshooting wizard to repair error code 12 on your PC.

Method 2 - Disable the Device to Resolve

By disabling the problematic device in the Device Manager, Windows will ignore that piece of hardware. Once disabled, Windows will then no longer assign system resources to that device and no driver/software will be able to use that device.

To disable, go to the Device Properties in the Device Manager and then click the Driver tab. Click disable located at the bottom of the window. Then you will be prompted with a message stating ‘Disabling this device will cause it to stop functioning. Do you wish to disable it?’ Click yes to continue and then click OK to save changes.

Method 3 - Restore Your PC to its Previous State

Another method to resolve error code 12 is to restore your PC to its previous state when it was working properly.

For this, it is important to backup all your data first to avoid data loss issues that are likely to occur during this process. Creating backups manually can be a time-consuming and tedious task. To save time and quicken the process, it is best to install a program like DriverFIX.

DriverFIX is a user-friendly and intuitive device driver management software that helps backup all your data automatically and efficiently, while simultaneously restores your PC back to its previous state before you encountered problems.

Click here to download DriverFIX on your system to resolve error code 12

Error 0X800F080C is tied to corrupted system files and .NET framework issues. In this article, we will focus on how to fix it starting first with .NET fixes and then moving to system-related ones. Follow the guide step by step so you can fix this error fast and easily.

.NET issues

As previously stated 0X800F080C error can occur due to issues with .NET framework, 3.5 framework to be more precise and there are two ways we can fix this error. Follow the guide below as presented:

1. Install .NET 3.5 framework from Windows features

   First thing is to try and install the framework from Window features itself. Sometimes installation and activation of .NET 3.5 in other ways can result in this error. To install it do the following: Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog Inside run type in appwiz.cpl and press ENTER to open up the Programs and Features menu Inside the Programs and Features menu click on Turn Windows features on or off. Check the box associated with .NET Framework 3.5 (this package includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) Press OK Click on YES and wait for the package to be installed then reboot your PC

2. Run the .NET Repair Tool

   If the previous step was not successful or you already had .NET 3.5 installed then run the troubleshooter in order to fix issues. Go to the official Microsoft .NET framework repair tool website here and download it. Once downloaded install the tool and follow onscreen instructions.

Corrupted system files

If the previous solution has not provided you with results then you have system file corruption that needs to be fixed. Move from one solution to another as presented below:

1. Run SFC scan

   SFC scan is a built-in Windows tool for solving corrupted system files issues, it is fully automated and does not require from the user any kind of knowledge or information. To run it and scan the system do the following: Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu Left-click on the command prompt (admin) In command prompt type SFC /SCANNOW and press ENTER Wait for the process to finish, do not interrupt it and once it is done, restart your computer

2. Run DISM scan

   DISM scan is similar to SFC scan but it tackles different types of system file corruption and it is recommended to run it also after SFC has been completed. Please note that for DISM scan to be successful you will need a stable internet connection since DISM will replace corrupted files with new ones downloaded from Microsoft. To run it do the following: Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu Left-click on the command prompt (admin) inside command prompt type: exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth followed by ENTER, then type: Dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth also followed with ENTER. Leave scan to finish and reboot your PC

HomeworkSimplified is a Browser Hijacking extension for Google Chrome developed by Mindspark. This extension will set your home page and new tab to MyWay.com.

From the Terms of Use: As part of the download process for the Toolbar, you may be given the option to reset your Internet browser’s homepage to an Ask homepage product and/or reset your new tab page to an Ask new tab product. If you do not wish to reset your homepage and/or new tab page to the Ask homepage and/or Ask new tab product(s), you can decline/opt-out of these features by checking or unchecking the appropriate box(es) during the download process for the Toolbar. While installing this extension monitors user browsing activity and sends it back to Mindspark servers, where they are later used/sold to better target and inject unwanted ads and sponsored content into your browsing sessions.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is regarded as the web’s constant danger that targets web browsers. It is a kind of malware program that redirects the web browser requests to some other suspicious websites. Browser hijacker malware is developed for numerous reasons. Typically, browser hijacking is used for earning advertising revenue that comes from forced ad clicks and website visits. It may appear harmless, but the majority of such websites are not legitimate and will pose a major threat to your online safety. Additionally, hijackers will make the whole infected system vulnerable – other harmful malware and viruses will take hold of these opportunities to get into your computer effortlessly.

Indications of browser hijack

The typical signs that signify having this malicious software on your computer are: 1. your homepage is reset to some mysterious website 2. you observe new unwanted bookmarks or favorites added, usually directed to advertisement-filled or pornography sites 3. the default search engine is changed and the web browser security settings have been brought down without your knowledge 4. you’re getting new toolbars you have never seen before 5. you may notice numerous pop-up adverts on your computer screen 6. your browser has instability problems or exhibits frequent errors 7. you’ve prohibited entry to certain web pages, including the website of an anti-malware software developer like SafeBytes.

How they get into your computer or laptop

There are several ways your computer can become infected by a browser hijacker. They usually arrive through spam e-mail, via file-sharing networks, or by a drive-by download. They are generally included with toolbars, add-ons, BHO, plug-ins, or browser extensions. Browser hijackers sneak into your pc along with free software application downloads also that you unwittingly install alongside the original. Typical examples of browser hijackers include CoolWebSearch, Conduit, OneWebSearch, Coupon Server, RocketTab, Snap.do, Delta Search, and Searchult.com. Browser hijacking may lead to serious privacy issues and also identity theft, disrupt your browsing experience by taking control of outbound traffic, considerably slows down your computer or laptop by depleting a lot of system resources and result in system instability as well.

How you can get rid of a browser hijacker

Some kinds of browser hijackers can be removed from the computer by uninstalling malicious software programs or any other recently added shareware. But, certain hijackers are very hard to identify or remove since they might get themselves connected with certain crucial system files which allow it to operate as a necessary operating system process. You should think about undertaking manual repairs only if you happen to be a tech-savvy individual, as potential risks are associated with tinkering with the system registry and HOSTS file. You might opt for automatic browser hijacker removal by just installing and running an efficient anti-malware application. To eradicate any browser hijacker from your computer, you should download this certified malware removal application – SafeBytes Anti-Malware. Employ a system optimizer (like Total System Care) together with your anti-malware software to correct various computer registry issues, eliminate system vulnerabilities, and boost your computer overall performance

How To Get Eliminate Virus That Is Preventing Anti-Malware Downloads?

All malware is inherently harmful, but certain kinds of malware do a lot more damage to your computer than others. Some malware variants modify web browser settings by adding a proxy server or change the PC’s DNS configurations. In these instances, you will be unable to visit some or all of the websites, and thus not able to download or install the necessary security software to remove the malware. If you’re reading this article, you may have got affected by malware that prevents you from downloading a security application like Safebytes Antimalware on your PC. Do as instructed below to eliminate malware in alternate ways.

Get rid of viruses in Safe Mode

The Windows-based PC includes a special mode known as “Safe Mode” where only the bare minimum required applications and services are loaded. In the event the malware is blocking access to the internet and affecting your PC, launching it in Safe Mode enables you to download anti-virus and run a diagnostic scan whilst limiting possible damage. In order to get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press the F8 key while the system is booting up or run MSCONFIG and locate the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. Once you are in Safe Mode, you can attempt to install your antivirus application without the hindrance of the malware. At this point, you can run the antivirus scan to remove viruses and malware without any hindrance from another application.

Switch over to an alternative browser

Certain viruses might target vulnerabilities of a particular web browser that obstruct the downloading process. If you are not able to download the security application using Internet Explorer, this means the virus may be targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you must switch over to another browser such as Chrome or Firefox to download the Safebytes Anti-malware program.

Install anti-malware on a USB drive

Another option is to store and run an anti-malware software program entirely from a Pen drive. Adopt these measures to use a USB drive to fix your infected computer system. 1) Make use of another virus-free computer to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Mount the pen drive on the same computer. 3) Double click on the exe file to run the installation wizard. 4) Select the flash drive as the destination for saving the file. Follow the activation instructions. 5) Now, transfer the pen drive to the infected computer. 6) Double-click the EXE file to open the Safebytes tool right from the thumb drive. 7) Click on the “Scan” button to run a full system scan and remove malware automatically.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware - More Protection For You Personally

If you’re looking to install anti-malware software for your PC, there are plenty of tools on the market to consider but you cannot trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is free or paid software. A few of them are good, some are ok types, while some will harm your computer themselves! You need to be careful not to select the wrong product, particularly if you purchase a premium application. While considering the dependable programs, Safebytes AntiMalware is certainly the strongly recommended one. SafeBytes anti-malware is a highly effective and user-friendly protection tool that is made for end-users of all levels of computer literacy. With its outstanding protection system, this software will easily detect and remove most of the security threats, including adware, viruses, browser hijackers, ransomware, PUPs, and trojans.

SafeBytes possesses a plethora of wonderful features that can help you protect your PC from malware attack and damage. Listed below are some of the best ones:

Real-time Active Protection: SafeBytes provides an entirely hands-free live protection and is set to check, prevent and remove all computer threats at its first encounter. It’ll regularly monitor your computer for hacker activity and also provides users with superior firewall protection. Anti-Malware Protection: This deep-cleaning antimalware application goes much deeper than most anti-virus tools to clean out your PC. Its critically acclaimed virus engine detects and disables hard-to-remove malware that conceals deep inside your PC. Website Filtering: SafeBytes gives an instant safety rating to the web pages you are going to visit, automatically blocking harmful sites and ensuring that you’re certain of your safety while browsing the world wide web. Light-weight: SafeBytes is a lightweight and easy-to-use antivirus and antimalware solution. Since it utilizes low computer resources, this application leaves the computer’s power exactly where it belongs to: with you actually. Premium Support: You will get 24/7 technical support to quickly resolve any issue with your security application. On the whole, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is a solid program since it has lots of features and can identify and eliminate any potential threats. You can be sure that your PC will be protected in real-time once you put this tool to use. For the best protection and the best value for your money, you can’t get better than SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you’d like to manually get rid of Homework Simplified without using an automated tool, it might be possible to do so by removing the application from the Microsoft Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of web browser extensions, going to the browser’s AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You’ll likely also want to reset your web browser. To ensure the complete removal, find the following Windows registry entries on your computer and eliminate them or reset the values accordingly. Please note that this is for experienced users only and could be difficult, with wrong file removal causing additional PC errors. Furthermore, some malware keeps replicating which makes it tough to eliminate. Carrying out this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is suggested.

Stable Diffusion is a machine learning model developed by Stability AI to generate digital images from natural language descriptions. The model can be used for different tasks like generating image-to-image translations guided by text prompts and upscaling images.

Unlike competing models like DALL-E, Stable Diffusion is open source and does not artificially limit the images it produces. Stable diffusion was trained on a subset of the LAION-Aesthetics V2 data set. It can run on most consumer hardware equipped with a modest GPU and was hailed by PC World as "the next killer app for your PC".

Since Stable Diffusion is run locally and not in the cloud, as mentioned there is no limit to the number of images that you can produce but in order to use it you will have to get down a little dirty with setting your PC environment for it since it is not really an application, it is a command line text based descriptor that will use python to generate your images, so there is no install nor GUI.

In this guide, we will show you how to both install and run Stable Diffusion on your local PC so you can start producing some cool images all by yourself.

Hardware and software requirements

Make no mistake, Stable Diffusion will not run on a potato PC, in order to harvest the power of AI-generated imagery this is what you will need:

• A GPU with at least 4GB of VRAM
• 10GB of hard disk space
• Python and libraries (Miniconda3 installer will install everything you need)
• The Stable Diffusion files
• Git
• Any OS (Windows, Linux, macOS)

Installing components

For this tutorial, we are covering the installation and running of Stable Diffusion on Windows PC. The steps presented here are presented in a way that installation can be performed on any operating system but precise instructions will be for Windows OS.

GIT

The first thing to do is to install GIT. It is a tool that will let you easily maintain and install repos from the internet. to install it go to: https://git-scm.com/ and click on download. Follow the instructions for your version of the operating system. If you are a developer you are familiar with GIT and if you already have it installed you can skip this step.

One thing that is important when installing GIT locally is to select to use it via the command line (the second option that says "Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software").

Miniconda3

Now when we have GIT installed, next thing is to use Miniconda3 to install python and all required libraries that are needed. Get the installer at: https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html

Miniconda3 is basically an easy installer so you do not have to install tons of stuff manually from different websites and sources, it is nicely packaged in the installer that will take care of everything.

Stable Diffusion

After the previous two steps, we are ready now to actually install Stable Diffusion. Go to https://huggingface.co/CompVis/stable-diffusion#model-access and install the latest library (as of the writing of this article currently it is stable-diffusion-v1-4-original, the last one on the right), the library is almost 5GB in size so be prepared for big download.

After installing stable diffusion's latest library it is time to update it to the newest version. You can download ZIP from GIT HUB https://github.com/CompVis/stable-diffusion

Once downloaded click on the Windows start button and type in Miniconda3 and click on open. Create a folder and name it how you want on a drive of your choice. For this example, we will install it all in disk C under folder AI_art, follow the instructions below but use your own names and destination instead. Do not close Minicoda3 after typing commands!!!

cd c:/
mkdir AI_art
cd AI_art 

Extract GitHub files that you have downloaded into your new folder and get back to Minicoda3 and type the next commands:

cd C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main
conda env create -f environment.yaml
conda activate ldm
mkdir models\ldm\stable-diffusion-v1

Let the whole process finish, some files are large and it might take a while. After the whole process is finished and completed, copy the checkpoint file that you have downloaded into: C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main\models\ldm\stable-diffusion-v1

After the file is copied rename it to model.ckpt and you are finished.

Running Stable Diffusion

The created environment is needed in order to actually use Stable Diffusion to create images. Each time you want to use it you will have to run it, so go into Miniconda3, and inside it type:

conda activate ldm
cd C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main

after we are inside the folder call the script with the parameters:

python scripts/txt2img.py --prompt "TXT DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE THAT YOU WANT TO CREATE" --plms --n_iter 5 --n_samples 1

and that's it, your image is created and it is located in C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main\outputs\txt2img-samples\samples

What Is 0x000000D1 Error?

Error code 0x000000D1 is a serious error that is displayed when Windows automatically shuts down to protect the system against further damage.

Usually, when this error occurs, the message displayed to the users states something like STOP 0x000000D1 DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

Solution

What Causes 0x000000D1 Error?

Usually, the STOP 0x000000D1 error code is caused by issues like incompatibilities, third-party drivers, driver conflicts, outdated drivers, malicious drivers, and other related problems.

Speaking technically, the message displayed to the user actually means that the kernel-mode driver has tried to gain access to memory at an unreasonably high process IRQL.

If left unfixed, STOP 0x000000D1 error can become quite serious. Increased frequency of occurrence may not only lead to data loss but can cause system corruption as well. That’s why it is crucial to fix it and to resolve the underlying issues causing it as soon as possible.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There are different ways of quickly fixing this error, some of which are briefly listed below as follows.

• The solution advised for advanced users is to start the system and log on to it as the administrator. Then do to Start button. Click on All Programs -> Accessories-> System Tools->  System Restore. Here you will find the option, “Restore my computer to an earlier time”. Click on it and select ‘Next’. A list of restore points will appear in front of you. Select the latest restore point and then click on ‘Next’. The confirmation window will appear again. Click on the Next button again. Restart your computer. Congratulations, you have successfully restored your computer.
• Another way that’s more suitable for novice users goes as follows. Download a repair utility tool. Now install the program. You are most likely to come across a Scan button. Once that happens, choose the Fix/Repair button. Your scan will be completed. The error will be removed. You can then restart your computer again to ensure the error is no longer displayed.

Some other suggestions to keep your computer from encountering these problems in the future are outlined below.

• Update all your drivers. Obsolete or old hardware or software drivers may also trigger this STOP 0x000000D1 error.
• If you have recently installed or modified a driver or hardware and the error has occurred afterward, it is highly likely that the installation or modification has caused it. Revert back to the original settings to steer clear of this driver in the future.