Completely Remove MapsGalaxy Malware Removal Tutorial

MapsGalaxy is a Browser Extension developed by MindSpark Inc. witch usually comes bundled with other software. This extension claims it allows users to search the web, open maps, and check out fasters routes to a destination.

While active, it monitors your browser activity. The links you visit, the searches you make, the websites you use, and even personal information is sent back to MindSpark Inc. to later be sold/used to deliver ads to your browser.

While this extension is active you may see additional unwanted ads, sponsored links, and pop-up ads displayed in your search results and browser. It also changes your default search engine to MyWay, ensuring its ads are displayed. Several anti-virus scanners have marked this extension as a Browser Hijacker and are therefore not recommended to keep on your PC.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is actually a form of unwanted software program, usually a web browser add-on or extension, which causes modifications in browser settings. Practically all browser hijackers are made for marketing or advertising purposes. Typically, it will drive users to predetermined websites that are looking to increase their advertising campaign revenue. Many people believe that such websites are legitimate and harmless but that is not true. Almost every browser hijacker poses an actual threat to your online safety and it is vital to classify them under privacy risks. They do not just screw up your internet browsers, but browser hijackers can also modify the computer registry to make your computer or laptop vulnerable to various other malware attacks.

How to know if your internet browser has been hijacked

Below are some symptoms that indicate you have been hijacked:
1. your web browser’s homepage is suddenly different
2. you observe new unwanted bookmarks or favorites added, usually directed to ad-filled or pornography websites
3. The default search page of your web browser is modified
4. discover new toolbars that you didn’t add
5. you’ll notice random pop-ups start occurring frequently
6. websites load very slowly and sometimes incomplete
7. Inability to navigate to certain websites, especially anti-malware and other security software sites.

Exactly how they infect computer systems

There are many ways your PC can get infected by a browser hijacker. They typically arrive by way of spam email, via file-sharing networks, or by a drive-by download. They could also be deployed via the installation of a web browser toolbar, extension, or add-on. A browser hijacker could also be installed as a part of freeware, shareware, demoware, and pirated programs. Well-known examples of browser hijackers include Conduit, CoolWebSearch, RocketTab, OneWebSearch, Coupon Server, Searchult.com, Snap.do, and Delta Search.

Browser hijackers might record user keystrokes to collect potentially invaluable information leading to privacy concerns, cause instability on computers, significantly disrupt the user experience, and eventually slow down the PC to a point where it will become unusable.

How to fix a browser hijack

The one thing you can try to get rid of a browser hijacker is to locate the malicious software in the “Add or Remove Programs” list in the Windows Control Panel. It may or may not be there. When it is, try to uninstall it. Having said that, most hijackers are quite tenacious and need specialized tools to remove them. Inexperienced PC users should not attempt the manual form of removal methods, since it requires in-depth computer knowledge to do fixes on the system registry and HOSTS file.

Find Out How To Install Safebytes Anti-Malware On An Infected Computer system

Practically all malware is inherently unsafe, but certain kinds of malicious software do more damage to your PC than others. Some malware variants alter web browser settings by adding a proxy server or change the PC’s DNS configurations. In these cases, you’ll be unable to visit certain or all internet sites, and therefore unable to download or install the required security software to eliminate the infection. If you’re reading this article now, you have perhaps recognized that virus infection is the cause of your blocked web connectivity. So how to proceed when you want to download and install an antivirus application such as Safebytes? There are some options you could try to get around with this problem.

Get rid of viruses in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a special, basic version of Microsoft Windows in which just a bare minimum of services are loaded to prevent viruses as well as other problematic applications from loading. In the event, the malicious software is set to load immediately when the computer boots, switching into this particular mode could prevent it from doing so. In order to get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press F8 while the computer is booting up or run MSCONFIG and look for the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. Once you’re in Safe Mode, you can attempt to download and install your anti-malware program without the hindrance of the malware. At this point, you are able to run the anti-virus scan to remove computer viruses and malware without hindrance from another malicious application.

Utilize an alternate web browser to download the anti-malware application

Malicious code could exploit vulnerabilities in a specific browser and block access to all anti-virus software sites. If you seem to have a trojan attached to Internet Explorer, then switch to a different browser with built-in safety features, such as Chrome or Firefox, to download your favorite antivirus program – Safebytes.

Install and run anti-virus from your flash drive

Here’s another solution which is utilizing a portable USB anti-malware software package that can scan your computer for malicious software without the need for installation. Adopt these measures to run the anti-virus on the infected computer.
1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or Microsoft Windows Defender Offline onto a clean computer.
2) Plug the pen drive into the uninfected computer.
3) Double-click on the downloaded file to open the installation wizard.
4) Select the drive letter of the pen drive as the place when the wizard asks you exactly where you would like to install the antivirus. Do as instructed on the screen to finish up the installation process.
5) Unplug the USB drive. You may now utilize this portable anti-malware on the infected computer.
6) Double-click the Safebytes Anti-malware icon on the flash drive to run the software.
7) Run Full System Scan to detect and clean-up up all types of malware.

Features and Benefits of SafeBytes Anti-Malware

If you are looking to download an anti-malware application for your computer, there are plenty of tools in the market to consider nonetheless, you should not trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is a paid or free program. Some are worth your money, but many aren’t. You need to pick one that is trustworthy, practical, and has a strong reputation for its malware source protection. On the list of the recommended tools by industry leaders is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, the most dependable program for Windows computers.

SafeBytes anti-malware is really a powerful, very effective protection tool created to assist users of all levels of computer literacy in detecting and removing harmful threats from their personal computers. This software program can easily identify, eliminate, and protect your PC from the most advanced malware threats such as spyware, adware, trojan horses, ransomware, worms, PUPs, along with other possibly damaging software programs.

SafeBytes carries a plethora of amazing features which can help you protect your laptop or computer from malware attack and damage. Let’s look into some of them below:

Live Protection: SafeBytes provides real-time active checking and protection from all known computer viruses and malware. It will regularly monitor your pc for hacker activity and also provides end-users with sophisticated firewall protection.

Optimum AntiMalware Protection: With its advanced and sophisticated algorithm, this malware elimination tool can detect and remove the malware threats hiding in your computer system effectively.

Safe Web Browsing: SafeBytes inspects the hyperlinks present on a web page for possible threats and notifies you if the website is safe to check out or not, through its unique safety rating system.

Fast Multi-threaded Scanning: SafeBytes’s virus scan engine is among the quickest and most efficient within the industry. It's targeted scanning drastically increases the catch rate for viruses that are embedded in various PC files.

Lightweight: The program is lightweight and can run silently in the background, and will not impact your PC efficiency.

24/7 On-line Tech Support: Support service is available for 24 x 7 x 365 days via email and chats to answer your queries.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you want to manually get rid of MapsGalaxy without the use of an automated tool, it might be actually 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’ll likely also want to reset your internet browser.

If you choose to manually delete the system files and registry entries, make use of the following list to make sure you know exactly what files to remove before undertaking any actions. But bear in mind, this can be a difficult task and only computer experts could accomplish it safely. Additionally, certain malicious programs have the capability to defend against its deletion. It is highly recommended that you carry out the removal process in Safe Mode.

Files:
%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%Maps4PC_0cbar.bin%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%Maps4PC_0cbar.bin%#MANIFEST#%cbrmon.exe 26,576 682c1b3de757f8d44c49aa01fff940ab
%PROGRAMFILES%Maps4PC_0cbar.bin%#MANIFEST#%cbarsvc.exe 34,864 2114e46c4564da66ac9026e9c848504d
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39bar.binbarsvc.exe 87,264 6b0c56f3192873cddf2bda0c6615118d
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsmjkonbafhhjkakmgejhidcnkkidokinm
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionseejjfjgkdnjfeflpeeopjobjjldcmlfi
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsggjmakejeechofmkhjljemfepbhppbbh
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionslkfkgnbjmeminilhckfckamlbkdgeaik
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsijjnmdphpnlnelhbhefnfmimenjgbfcn
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binEIPlug.dll 55,784 59a25ac6974b6c98bfd4d11d4b2653f8
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binEzSetp.DLL 739,816 8e7674f70d21bbc0703000ce5c72398a
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binNP39EISb.DLL 31,216 fa7fbc48b84026c2a0dcb611e0e04bf9
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsdcahllpkcnofkhpacpajmibjfjccajlj
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionshfnlkbpoacofighnabkdomkfdbpjeomm
%LOCALAPPDATA%MapsGalaxy Installer(00ef2c80).exe

Registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAppDataLowHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMapsGalaxy_39
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMapsGalaxy_39
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy6818868a-1b3d-4e35-a561-fa964a96cd3b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy79e57afa-bc05-4636-9457-fbc0abb3576b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy9193e23b-4182-493f-a38e-682307a7c463
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicyae0f4663-eae3-437f-be60-9ec9b745dbfa
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicye1f80eb5-8af4-410d-87c1-4f3e2776822a
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerToolbar, value: 364ea597-e728-4ce4-bb4a-ed846ef47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerBrowser Helper Objects1e91a655-bb4b-4693-a05e-2edebc4c9d89
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerBrowser Helper Objects71c1d63a-c944-428a-a5bd-ba513190e5d2
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved3ED5E5EC-0965-4DD3-B7D8-DBC48A1172B9
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved4b7d0b0c-cff3-49c5-9bc3-ffabc031c822
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved8f0b76e1-4e46-427b-b55b-b90593468ac6
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproveda35ff019-6dbe-4044-b080-6f3fa78a947f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApprovede045df14-bf1d-405c-a37b-a75c1551ad17
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun, value: MapsGalaxy Search Scope Monitor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstallMapsGalaxy_39bar Uninstall Firefox
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstallMapsGalaxy_39bar Uninstall Internet Explorer
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy1241cebd-9777-4bc6-aae5-2a77e25db246
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy6818868a-1b3d-4e35-a561-fa964a96cd3b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy79e57afa-bc05-4636-9457-fbc0abb3576b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy9193e23b-4182-493f-a38e-682307a7c463
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicyae0f4663-eae3-437f-be60-9ec9b745dbfa
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicye1f80eb5-8af4-410d-87c1-4f3e2776822a
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerToolbar, value: 364ea597-e728-4ce4-bb4a-ed846ef47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved1796ec91-d094-4a5f-b681-e16015d1ceac
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved3ED5E5EC-0965-4DD3-B7D8-DBC48A1172B9
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved4b7d0b0c-cff3-49c5-9bc3-ffabc031c822
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved8f0b76e1-4e46-427b-b55b-b90593468ac6
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproveda35ff019-6dbe-4044-b080-6f3fa78a947f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApprovede045df14-bf1d-405c-a37b-a75c1551ad17
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun, value: MapsGalaxy Search Scope Monitor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunOnce, value: MapsGalaxy_39bar Uninstall
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicybf75b5a2-8403-4f70-88a6-488e3bea0d7b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMapsGalaxy_39
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicybf75b5a2-8403-4f70-88a6-488e3bea0d7b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerApproved Extensions, value: 71C1D63A-C944-428A-A5BD-BA513190E5D2
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtSettings364EA597-E728-4CE4-BB4A-ED846EF47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtStats1E91A655-BB4B-4693-A05E-2EDEBC4C9D89
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtStats364EA597-E728-4CE4-BB4A-ED846EF47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtStats71C1D63A-C944-428A-A5BD-BA513190E5D2
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerDOMStoragesearch.myway.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopesb0441a0e-a49a-4e16-afc1-74ecced1921f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.dl.myway.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopesb0441a0e-a49a-4e16-afc1-74ecced1921f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMapsGalaxy
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMapsGalaxy
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragewww.mapsgalaxy.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.dl.myway.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerStartupApprovedRun32, value: MapsGalaxy EPM Support
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun, value: MapsGalaxy EPM Support
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASMANCS
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASMANCS
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASAPI32
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASAPI32
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.dl.tb.ask.com
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftware[APPLICATION]MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall..Uninstallercbrmon.exe 26,576 682c1b3de757f8d44c49aa01fff940ab
%PROGRAMFILES%Maps4PC_0cbar.bin%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%Maps4PC_0cbar.bin%#MANIFEST#%cbrmon.exe 26,576 682c1b3de757f8d44c49aa01fff940ab
%PROGRAMFILES%Maps4PC_0cbar.bin%#MANIFEST#%cbarsvc.exe 34,864 2114e46c4564da66ac9026e9c848504d
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39bar.binbarsvc.exe 87,264 6b0c56f3192873cddf2bda0c6615118d
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsmjkonbafhhjkakmgejhidcnkkidokinm
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionseejjfjgkdnjfeflpeeopjobjjldcmlfi
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsggjmakejeechofmkhjljemfepbhppbbh
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionslkfkgnbjmeminilhckfckamlbkdgeaik
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsijjnmdphpnlnelhbhefnfmimenjgbfcn
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binEIPlug.dll 55,784 59a25ac6974b6c98bfd4d11d4b2653f8
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binEzSetp.DLL 739,816 8e7674f70d21bbc0703000ce5c72398a
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binNP39EISb.DLL 31,216 fa7fbc48b84026c2a0dcb611e0e04bf9
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsdcahllpkcnofkhpacpajmibjfjccajlj
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionshfnlkbpoacofighnabkdomkfdbpjeomm
%LOCALAPPDATA%MapsGalaxy Installer(00ef2c80).exe

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAppDataLowHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMapsGalaxy_39
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMapsGalaxy_39
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy6818868a-1b3d-4e35-a561-fa964a96cd3b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy79e57afa-bc05-4636-9457-fbc0abb3576b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy9193e23b-4182-493f-a38e-682307a7c463
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicyae0f4663-eae3-437f-be60-9ec9b745dbfa
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicye1f80eb5-8af4-410d-87c1-4f3e2776822a
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerToolbar, value: 364ea597-e728-4ce4-bb4a-ed846ef47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerBrowser Helper Objects1e91a655-bb4b-4693-a05e-2edebc4c9d89
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerBrowser Helper Objects71c1d63a-c944-428a-a5bd-ba513190e5d2
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved3ED5E5EC-0965-4DD3-B7D8-DBC48A1172B9
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved4b7d0b0c-cff3-49c5-9bc3-ffabc031c822
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved8f0b76e1-4e46-427b-b55b-b90593468ac6
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproveda35ff019-6dbe-4044-b080-6f3fa78a947f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApprovede045df14-bf1d-405c-a37b-a75c1551ad17
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun, value: MapsGalaxy Search Scope Monitor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstallMapsGalaxy_39bar Uninstall Firefox
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstallMapsGalaxy_39bar Uninstall Internet Explorer
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy1241cebd-9777-4bc6-aae5-2a77e25db246
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy6818868a-1b3d-4e35-a561-fa964a96cd3b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy79e57afa-bc05-4636-9457-fbc0abb3576b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicy9193e23b-4182-493f-a38e-682307a7c463
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicyae0f4663-eae3-437f-be60-9ec9b745dbfa
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicye1f80eb5-8af4-410d-87c1-4f3e2776822a
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerToolbar, value: 364ea597-e728-4ce4-bb4a-ed846ef47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved1796ec91-d094-4a5f-b681-e16015d1ceac
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved3ED5E5EC-0965-4DD3-B7D8-DBC48A1172B9
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved4b7d0b0c-cff3-49c5-9bc3-ffabc031c822
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproved8f0b76e1-4e46-427b-b55b-b90593468ac6
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApproveda35ff019-6dbe-4044-b080-6f3fa78a947f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtPreApprovede045df14-bf1d-405c-a37b-a75c1551ad17
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun, value: MapsGalaxy Search Scope Monitor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunOnce, value: MapsGalaxy_39bar Uninstall
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicybf75b5a2-8403-4f70-88a6-488e3bea0d7b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMapsGalaxy_39
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLow RightsElevationPolicybf75b5a2-8403-4f70-88a6-488e3bea0d7b
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerApproved Extensions, value: 71C1D63A-C944-428A-A5BD-BA513190E5D2
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtSettings364EA597-E728-4CE4-BB4A-ED846EF47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtStats1E91A655-BB4B-4693-A05E-2EDEBC4C9D89
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtStats364EA597-E728-4CE4-BB4A-ED846EF47970
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExtStats71C1D63A-C944-428A-A5BD-BA513190E5D2
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerDOMStoragesearch.myway.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopesb0441a0e-a49a-4e16-afc1-74ecced1921f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.dl.myway.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopesb0441a0e-a49a-4e16-afc1-74ecced1921f
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMapsGalaxy
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMapsGalaxy
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragewww.mapsgalaxy.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.dl.myway.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.com
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerStartupApprovedRun32, value: MapsGalaxy EPM Support
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun, value: MapsGalaxy EPM Support
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASMANCS
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASMANCS
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASAPI32
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftTracingMapsGalaxy_RASAPI32
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerLowRegistryDOMStoragemapsgalaxy.dl.tb.ask.com
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftware[APPLICATION]MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall..Uninstallercbarsvc.exe 34,864 2114e46c4564da66ac9026e9c848504d
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39bar.binbarsvc.exe 87,264 6b0c56f3192873cddf2bda0c6615118d
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsmjkonbafhhjkakmgejhidcnkkidokinm
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionseejjfjgkdnjfeflpeeopjobjjldcmlfi
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsggjmakejeechofmkhjljemfepbhppbbh
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionslkfkgnbjmeminilhckfckamlbkdgeaik
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsijjnmdphpnlnelhbhefnfmimenjgbfcn
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binEIPlug.dll 55,784 59a25ac6974b6c98bfd4d11d4b2653f8
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binEzSetp.DLL 739,816 8e7674f70d21bbc0703000ce5c72398a
%PROGRAMFILES%MapsGalaxy_39EIMapsGalaxy_39EIInstallr.binNP39EISb.DLL 31,216 fa7fbc48b84026c2a0dcb611e0e04bf9
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionsdcahllpkcnofkhpacpajmibjfjccajlj
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensionshfnlkbpoacofighnabkdomkfdbpjeomm
%LOCALAPPDATA%MapsGalaxy Installer(00ef2c80).exe

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Fixing Error code 15 or Error code 16

If you get an Error Code 15 or Error Code 16 while you are browsing the web and you notice that your access is blocked to a particular website, then read on as this post will guide you in resolving this problem. Both Error Code 15 and Error Code 16 have the same message that states, “Access Denied: This request was blocked by the security rules”. Note that the error depends on what kind of browser you are using, as well as the operating system and network that you are using. On the other hand, the fixes for this error are the same and there is a handful of them that you can check out just make sure to follow each one of them carefully.

Option 1 – Sync Date and Time

The first thing you can try is to sync the Date and Time of your computer as the wrong Date and Time settings are one of the most common causes of connection problems like Error code 15 or Error code 16. This is because of the incompatibility between the SSL Certificate validation date and the System Clock. Thus, you have to sync your System Clock. Refer to the steps below to do so.

Right-click on the Taskbar and click on the Adjust Date and Time option.
Next, click on the Sync Now button to synchronize the Date and Time with the Microsoft Servers.
Now make sure that the Time Zone that’s set on the same page is correct.

Option 2 – Try to reset the affected browser

Resetting the affected browser might help in fixing Error Code 15 or Error Code 16.

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.
Now click OK to save the changes made.

Option 3 – Temporarily disable Firewall and third-party antivirus

Firewall and antivirus programs are known to block files the instant it detects a threat to the system. However, there are some cases when it can also block a file even when it’s a safe one. Thus, your antivirus or firewall programs might be the reason why you can’t download anything on your Windows 10 computer. To isolate the issue, you need to temporarily disable both the Firewall and antivirus programs and then check if you can now download anything from the internet. Do not forget to enable them again as disabling them can leave your computer vulnerable to cyber threats.

Option 4 – Disable the Proxy server

You can also try to disable the Proxy server for your LAN to fix Error code 15 or Error code 16 especially if your computer was attacked by some malware or adware recently. In such cases, there is a chance that the malware or adware has changed your network settings in order to generate intrusive advertisements. Thus, you have to disable the proxy server and you can do that by following these steps:

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “inetcpl.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to pull up the Internet Properties.
After that, go to the Connections tab and select the LAN settings.
From there. Uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” option for your LAN and then make sure that the “Automatically detect settings” option is checked.
Now click the OK and the Apply buttons.
Restart your PC.

Note: If you are using a third-party proxy service, you have to disable it.

Option 5 – Check your VPN

If you are using a VPN application, there are times when it causes some issues like this error. If that’s the case, you can try to disable your VPN temporarily and see if the error is resolved or not and if turns out that your VPN is the culprit, you have to uninstall it and install a new one or its latest version. To uninstall it, follow the steps below.

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box
Then type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
From there, look for the VPN service you are using, select it and then click on Uninstall to remove it.
After that, restart your computer and try to install the latest version of the program again. It should work now. If not, proceed to the next available option below.

Fixing DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Stop Error on Windows 10

If you’ve been using your Windows 10 PC for a long time now, you might have come across a couple of issues – from minimal ones to critical ones like the Blue Screen of Death or BSOD stop errors. One of these BSOD errors you can encounter is the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Blue Screen error. This particular BSOD error is caused by iaStorA.sys, iaisp64 sys, Netwtw04.sys, nvlddmkm.sys, ndis.sys, wrUrlFlt.sys, and other driver files on Windows 10. This error indicates that a kernel-mode driver tried to access pageable memory at a process IRQL that was too high. When you encounter this error, just like a typical BSOD error, your computer will abruptly stop and you will see a blue screen with an error message saying:

“Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we’ll restart for you. (100% complete) If you’d like to know more, you can search online later for this error: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (wrUrlFlt.sys)”

The iaStorA.sys file is a software component that’s related to the Intel Rapid Storage Technology by Intel. It is a software solution supported by Intel Smart Response Technology which allows the PC to communicate with the hardware as well as externally connected devices. The Intel Rapid Storage Technology enables the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express or PCIe storage support, serial ATA RAID or Redundant Array of Independent Disks 0, 1, 5, and 10 support, and the PUIS or power-up in standby is also supported. To resolve this kind of BSOD error, you have to update, roll back or fresh-install the problematic driver. Refer to the options laid out below for detailed instructions.

Option 1 – Try removing the Intel Rapid Storage Technology or IRST drivers

The first thing you can try is to fix the Wi-Fi driver or the Ethernet driver on your computer to resolve the BSOD error. Take note that this option works not only on Windows 10 but also other Windows versions.

Tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
After opening the Device Manager, click on the “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller” entry and expand it.
Next, right-click on all the driver entries that are appropriately labeled, and then click on Uninstall device.
Now restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed or not. If not, proceed to the next given option below.

Option 2 – Try updating the Intel Rapid Storage Technology or IRST drivers

If you’ve already tried uninstalling the IRST driver but you’re still getting the DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL Blue Screen error when you use your Windows 10 PC, then this means that the drivers might be corrupted or not compatible with the operating system version that you are using right now. So to fix the problem, you have to update your drivers. To do that, follow the steps below.

The first thing you need to do is to go to your OEM’s website.
Once you’re already on the OEM’s website, go to the Drivers section and get the latest version for your device and then try to overwrite it.

Alternatively, you can also update the drivers via the Device Manager:

Tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
After opening the Device Manager, click on the “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller” entry and expand it.
Next, right-click on all the driver entries that are appropriately labeled, and then click the Update driver option.
Now restart your PC and check if the BSOD error is fixed or not.

Option 3 – Try using the System File Checker via Command Prompt

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 that might be causing the DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL Blue Screen error. 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:

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

Removing Search.schooldozer.com hijacker

What is Search.schooldozer.com? And how does it function?

Search.schooldozer.com is a browser extension that functions as a search engine. It is developed and maintained by “Schooldozer”. It claims to improve users’ browsing experience by providing them with improved search results. However, it does not really do the things it claims to do. In fact, they’re quite the opposite ones – instead of improving the browsing experience, it makes users’ browsing experience unsafe and full of sponsored content. This is in contrast to what it states in its Privacy Policy:

“Install applications the easy way and without the hassle, using the Schooldozer downloader. The Schooldozer platform stems from years of experience with installing applications, resulting in a highly optimized process, yielding faster downloads, better user experience, and more successful installations.”

In addition, once installed Search.schooldozer.com is installed, it will change the default settings of a browser such as the default search engine, homepage, and new tab page. This is why security experts regard this browser extension as a browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program. The modification of the browser's settings allows it to control users’ browsing by redirecting them to sponsored sites as well as deliver sponsored content from its affiliated sites in order to gain profit via pay-per-click marketing. And if you think that the ads it displays are harmless, think again for some of these ads can redirect you to suspicious websites that might contain harmful content. What’s more is that this browser hijacker can also keep track and monitor all your browsing activities in order to obtain your browsing data like search queries, what sites you always visit, browsing history, browser type, OS version, and so on. The information collected is then used and may even be shared with its affiliated third parties to deliver more customized and personalized advertisements.

How is Search.schooldozer.com distributed over the web?

Like a typical browser hijacker, Search.schooldozer.com is distributed using the software bundling method where several unknown and unwanted programs are bundled in a software package. Thus when you install any software bundle, make sure to always opt for the Custom or Advanced installation setup rather than the quick setup to avoid installing unwanted programs like Search.schooldozer.com. To remove Search.schooldozer.com from your computer, follow the removal guide below carefully. Step 1: Start the removal process by closing all the browsers infected with Search.schooldozer.com. If you’re having a hard time closing them, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Step 2: After you open the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the infected browser’s process and end it. Step 3: Then close the Task Manager and tap the Win + R keys to open Run and then type in appwiz.cpl to open Programs & Features in Control Panel. Step 4: From there, look for Search.schooldozer.com or any unfamiliar program that could be related to it under the list of installed programs and once you’ve found it, uninstall it. Step 5: Edit your Hosts File.

Tap the Win + R keys to open then type in %WinDir% and then click OK.
Go to System32/drivers/etc.
Open the host file using Notepad.
Delete all the entries that contain Search.schooldozer.com.
After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.

Step 6: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.

Google Chrome

Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
Look for Search.schooldozer.com or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
Select “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
Click the More actions button next to the hijacker and click Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
In the Extensions, menu Remove the unwanted extension.
Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
Select Options and then move to the General menu.
Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.

Internet Explorer

Launch Internet Explorer.
Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
Click OK to save the changes.

Step 7: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer. Step 8: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to the browser hijacker such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.

%USERPROFILE%Downloads
%USERPROFILE%Desktop
%TEMP%

Step 9: Close the File Explorer. Step 10: Empty the contents of Recycle Bin.

Disabling Auto Update in Chrome & Firefox

As you know, all the web browsers come with the support of auto-updates which include both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. However, with these updates, the browser comes with the support of a new web APIs and better rendering. Although there could be a lot of problems that may arise due to these updates. These problems consist of depreciation of features, incompatibility with some websites, to name a few. It includes incompatibility with some websites, depreciation of features, and more. This might push someone to stop the auto-updates of these web browsers. So, in this guide, we will be checking out how to stop auto-update in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on Windows 10. Thus, if you want to be rid of these issues, then you can disable the Chrome & Firefox auto-update and you can do that by either using the Windows Services Manager and the System Configuration utility.

Option 1 – Disable Chrome & Firefox auto-update via Windows Services Manager

The first thing you can do to disable the Chrome auto-update is through the Windows Services Manager. To do so, follow these steps:

First, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
After that, you will see a list of services and from there, look for the Google Update Services (gupdate) and Google Update Service (gupdatem).
Once you find these services, right-click on each one of them and select Properties and then make sure that the Service Status is set to be Stopped.
You should also select the Startup Type to Disabled and click on the Apply and OK buttons.
Now restart your computer. This should stop the automatic update of the Chrome browser.

Option 2 – Disable Chrome & Firefox auto-update via System Configuration utility or MSConfig

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “msconfig” in the field and tap Enter to open the System Configuration.
After that, go to the Services tab and uncheck the two entries, namely Google Update Service (gupdate) and Google Update Service (gupdatem).
Next, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
Restart your computer.

Note: Now that you’ve stopped the auto-update in Firefox, it’s time for you to stop the auto-update in Mozilla Firefox. To get started, follow the steps below.

Open the Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the hamburger menu located on the top-right portion of the screen.
After that, select Options and under the General panel and then go to the Firefox Updates section.
Next, click on the radio button for updates but select the option to let you install them.
You also have to uncheck the options named “Use a background service to install updates” and “Automatically update search engines”.
Once done, restart the Firefox browser. This should stop the automatic update.

Run Windows 10 from your USB drive

Many Linux users if not all of them can run their distros from a USB drive but did you know you can run Windows 10 from a USB drive as well? Microsoft has introduced all the way back to Windows 8 one feature called Windows To Go and it kept it in Windows 8.1 and in Windows 10 as well. This feature is intended as a convenient way for workers to carry their corporate environments with them, but having your own copy of Windows on a thumb drive could be handy for backup purposes, too, or if you frequently use public machines that lack your preferences/applications or that have a restricted OS.

What you will need?

In order to actually make Windows 10 run from a USB drive you will need the following things:

USB drive with a minimum size of 20GB
Working computer with Windows 10 running on it
Rufus or another ISO to UBS tool, get Rufus here: https://rufus.ie/en_US/
Windows 10 ISO file

Making Windows 10 UBS drive

Install Rufus on your Windows 10 and run it. Stick USB in PC and open Rufus. On the screen that follows choose your Windows 10 ISO image and under Image options choose Windows To Go. Click on ready and you are finished, that’s it. After Rufus finishes you have now fully working Windows 10 bootable drive which you can use on another PC for whatever reason.

Fix cannot open IPv4 Properties in Windows 10

Many Windows 10 users often change the IP addresses of their computers’ network adapter in order to connect to the internet or network they belong to in times when there is no automatic connection for their computers. In most cases, access to modifying this setting is restricted for some odd reason even if you are an administrator. So if you are one of the users whose Windows 10 VPN IPv4 Properties are not working, this post can help you remedy that so that you can open and edit the IPv4 Properties on your Windows 10 PC. The common way to change IP settings is by going to Settings > Network and then to Internet > Change adapter options > Select Network adapter > right click and open Properties. From there, you can select TCP/IP 4 and modify it. If you aren’t able to do this, refer to the instructions laid out below to troubleshoot the problem in accessing the IPv4 Properties.

Option 1 – Try using PowerShell to manually set the IPv4 properties

As you are not able to set it using the interface, you can do so using PowerShell instead. Note that this option will only work for you if you run PowerShell with administrator privileges. After opening PowerShell, according to many users, you have to run the this command – set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias “Ethernet” -ServerAddresses xxx.xx.xxx.xxx,x.x.x.x,xxx.xx.xxx.xxx,x.x.x.x Usually, Ethernet is the name of your network adapter which is set by default. If you want to see the actual name of your network adapter, you can just type this command and tap Enter after doing so – Get-NetAdapter -physical | where status -eq 'up' After entering the given command, you will see a list of active Ethernet adapter in your computer as you can see on the image above. Note that the 4 sets of X like the one on the image below should match with the sequence:

Option 2 – Try editing the rasphone.pbk files

The rasphone.pbk files stores property for the connections and since you are not able to access the IPv4 properties, it is most likely that it has been disabled here. The good thing is that you can open these files and edit them using Notepad. Refer to the steps below to do so.

Open the Windows Explorer and then enable the show hidden files option.
After that, look for the files at this location – C:Users <username>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftNetworkConnectionsPbk_hiddenPbkrasphone.pbk
Then right-click on it and select the “Open with” option and choose the Notepad app.
After opening the file, look for “IpPrioritizeRemote” from the long list.
Once you found it, set its value from “1” to “0”.
After that, look for “IPInterfaceMetric” and set its value to “1” and tap Ctrl + S to save the changes you’ve made, and then exit and try accessing the IPv4 properties again. It should work, but if you’re still unable to access it, try the next option below.

Option 3 – Enable the Split Tunneling if you use VPN

All data goes back and forth when you are using a VPN service on your computer. And since you are using VPN, it could be that it disables the IPv4 interface. If that’s the case, you need to stay connected with both the local network and VPN and to do so, you have to enable Split Tunneling. How? Follow these steps:

Open PowerShell with administrator privileges.
Next, type in “Get-VpnConnection” and tap Enter. After doing so, it will give you the exact name of your VPN.
After that, type in “Set-VpnConnection -Name “yourVPNName” -SplitTunneling $True” and tap Enter. Once you enter the command, it will free your IPv5 settings so that you can change it to connect with your local network if you prefer it to.

How to Fix Error Code 0x80073afc

Error Code 0x80073afc - What is it?

Error code 0x80073afc deals with an antivirus program first built into Windows 8/8.1 This error occurs when Windows Defender, the built-in anti-virus software in Windows 8/8.1 and higher, does not start automatically and users attempt to manually start the program. During the initialization period of the program start-up, something goes wrong and users get a 0x80073afc Error message. The error message states there was a problem with the initialization of the program. Windows Defender provides protection of your computer and it is advised by the Microsoft Corporation that you ensure it starts up automatically on every start-up.

Solution

Further Information and Manual Repair

Users have found several manual repairs that have fixed the problem without needing to contact technicians for extra help. While the methods below should solve your problem easily, if this is the first time you have encountered the issue you may want to do a simple restart. This has fixed the problem for some users and is the easiest first troubleshooting move. If it doesn’t work move on to the methods listed below, which are easily completed without extra help.

Before trying any of these methods, please make sure that you are logged into a profile that is listed as the administrator of the computer of his administrative powers enabled. If this is not the case you will not be able to complete the following methods. Please log out and log back in on the administrator profile.

Method 1:

First, check to see if you have a third-party anti-virus program installed on your computer. Some users believe that the built-in Windows Defender program is not powerful enough to handle the safety of their computer so they usually download a third-party program. However, that program may have caused a conflict with Windows Defender and may not allow it to open. If you do have a third-party program installed, try uninstalling it then manually starting Windows Defender.

Method 2:

If method one does not work, you may be infected by malware or a virus that has tampered with the settings on your computer and will not allow Windows Defender to start automatically or manually.

First, open Run by holding the “Win” key and pressing the “R” key. Then type “Regedit”. The program will ask for permission to follow through with this action. Click on “Yes” and the Open Registry Editor will open.

Find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Option and check to see if there are any files similar to MSASCui.exe or MpCmdRun.exe. If there are any file entries that resemble that, you will want to right-click on them before selecting the “Delete” option. If you do not see any entries that match, this is not the issue with your Windows Defender and you will want to try another method.

The Registry on your computer is very important. It helps tell your computer what programs are safe to run, what programs should be run, and what programs should not be run. If it is tampered with by a virus or Malware, multiple system operations can be affected.

However, if you did find similar file names, and you deleted them, try to start Windows Defender manually. If it does not work again, move on to the next method.

Method 3:

If the first two methods do not work for your issue, and you are still receiving error code 0x80073afc when attempting to start Windows Defender, this step should solve the problem if you have Restore Point installed on your computer, which you most likely do.

For this method, we will be restoring your computer to a previous Restore Point. First, just like in method two, hold the “Win” key and press the “R” key. This will open run. Next type “Rstrui.exe” and click “ok”. After some time, you will see System Restore Windows. Click “Next” and select the restore point that you would like to go back to. After your computer has restored to the point you selected, check to ensure that Windows Defender has started correctly.

If the above methods aren't able to rectify the issue, you might have to download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.

Can’t download anything on your Windows PC

Recently, a number of users reported that they weren’t able to download anything from the internet after they’ve updated their Windows 10 computers. This kind of problem occurs because of some Internet options settings located in the Control Panel. Based on the reports, this issue has been known to occur in all kinds of browsers and not only on Microsoft Edge. Not being able to download anything from the internet is a huge problem since almost everything is wrapped around the internet. To resolve this problem, here are some suggestions that you can try.

Option 1 – Temporarily disable Firewall and third-party antivirus

Option 2 – Try changing the Internet Options settings

According to users, changing the Internet Options settings helped them resolve the problem. There are times when the drive location in your Internet Options settings is not the system drive, chances are, it will cause the error to pop up which is why you need to make sure that it’s correct.

Go to Control Panel and search for Internet Options and open it.
Next, go to the General tab and click on Settings.
From there, check if the drive location is “C:”. If it is, close the window, otherwise, click on the “Move folder…” option, and then select your preferred folder under drive C: and click OK.
Now restart your computer and check if changing the Internet Options settings helped in fixing the problem.

Option 3 – Try clearing browser data

There are instances when browser data can cause issues in downloading files online. And so you can try to clear your browser’s data. This might be a very basic solution but oftentimes it works in fixing this kind of error. Follow the steps below to clear the data in your browser.

Open your Google Chrome browser.
After that, tap the Ctrl + H keys. Doing so will open a new panel that allows you to delete the browsing history and other data in your browser.
Now select every checkbox that you see and click on the Clear browsing data button.
Then restart your Chrome browser and check if you can now open any website or not.

Option 4 – Get rid of any conflicting browser extensions

Open Chrome and press Alt + F keys.
Go to More tools and click Extensions to look for any suspicious browser extensions or toolbars.
Click the Recycle bin and select Remove.
Restart Chrome and press Alt + F keys again.
Proceed to On Startup and mark Open a specific page or set of pages.
To check if the browser hijacker is still active, click Set pages, if it is active, overwrite the URL.

Option 5 – Try to remove Proxy

Removing the Proxy might also help you in fixing the connection issue in Cortana. Here’s how you can do it:

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “inetcpl.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to pull up the Internet Properties.
After that, go to the Connections tab and select the LAN settings.
From there. Uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” option for your LAN and then make sure that the “Automatically detect settings” option is checked.
Now click the OK and the Apply buttons.
Restart your PC.

Note: If you are using a third-party proxy service, you have to disable it.

Option 6 – Try reinstalling your browser

If none of the options given above worked in fixing the problem, you can try to reinstall your browser. There are times when the browser wasn’t installed properly which can cause several issues like not being able to download anything from the web. Thus, reinstall your browser and see if that helps.

Error 0x8007002C - 0x4001E, installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase

Recently, a lot of users reported getting several error messages when they upgraded their Windows 10 computers. One of these error messages users encountered during a Windows 10 upgrade is the Error 0x8007002C-0x4001E. if you are one of the users who is facing this error, read on as this post will help you fix it. When you encounter this error, you will see the following error message on your screen:

“We couldn’t install Windows 10 We’ve set your PC back to the way it was before you started installing Windows 10 0x8007002C-0x4001E, The installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase with an error during PRE_OOBE operation.”

To resolve the 0x8007002C-0x4001E, The installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase error, here are some suggestions that might help.

Option 1 – Try flushing the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders

You have to stop a couple of services such as BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer, and Windows Update Services. And to do that, you need to flush the contents in the SoftwareDistribution folder. The Software Distribution folder in the Windows operating system is a folder that can be found in the Windows directory and is used to store files temporarily which might be required to install the Windows Update on your PC. Thus, it is required by the Windows Update and maintained by WUAgent. Aside from that, it also contains all the Windows Update History files and once you delete them, you will most likely lose the Update history. As a result, the next time you run the Windows Update, it may result in a longer detection time.

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

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

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

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

Type each one of the following commands.

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

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

Option 2 – Select the Keep your files option

You can also select the option to perform an in-place upgrade and opt for the “Keep my files” option during an installation as it might make the process a lot smoother and if you need to perform a clean install, you can do so once the setup is completed.

Option 3 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the 0x8007002C-0x4001E, The installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase error. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button.

Option 4 – Try to run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

Aside from the Windows Update Troubleshooter, you can also run the online troubleshooter of Microsoft as it can help you with Windows 10 upgrade errors.

Option 5 – Perform a clean install

If none of the options worked, you can try to clean install Windows 10. Just make sure that you have the ISO from the official Microsoft Website and then a bootable USB drive to install Windows 10 again. Take note that this will delete all the data from your drive where Windows 10 was installed previously.

Windows 11 23H2 Update Details Revealed

Loving Windows 11 so far? We sure are. Microsoft has clearly decided to take its OS to the next level and keeps showing it through every update. It makes you wonder what’s next - and today, you’ll find out!

Tons of new features have been leaked, and we can probably expect them with the 23H2 update. Here’s everything you need to know so far.

What’s Windows 11 23H2 bringing?

There are plenty of new features already confirmed for Windows 11. The only issue is we don’t know for sure if they’re coming with the 23H2 update or separately, at a different time. Whatever the case, a lot of them are pretty exciting.

Here’s an overview of what we might be getting this fall.

Windows Copilot. Microsoft wants to add this AI-powered feature based on chatbots like Bing Chat and ChatGPT to assist users with all kinds of actions and tasks on the platform. As part of this development, the integration of first- and third-party plugins and the Bing Chat AI will be enhanced. This is a pretty amazing addition to look forward to, if you ask us.

Dynamic Lighting. RGB lovers will rejoice upon this one! Dynamic Lighting will allow you to control your RGB-powered components directly through the Windows Settings, allowing smooth integration of your favorite peripherals with your OS. No need for third-party software anymore!

Taskbar enhancements. Microsoft has announced some neat improvements to the Windows 11 taskbar. For one, we’ll be able to hide the Time and Date now, which is extremely useful for focus, but also for clean screenshots. Another change is the ability to shut down programs directly from the Taskbar, without having to run the Task Manager.

Expanding native support for archive formats 7-zip, rar, gz and others on the libarchive open-source projects.

Microsoft Store AI features. The theme of AI power is clearly being taken up a notch, because the Microsoft Store seems to be getting several awesome features in this regard. One of them is AI hub, which “curate the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft” (Windows Developer Blog). We’re not sure what that means exactly, but we sure can’t wait to see.

Another is AI-generated keywords, designed to improve the discoverability of apps you’re searching for. Moreover, the AI-generated review summary is designed to give us a simpler experience looking at reviews. Huge numbers of reviews will be compiled into a summary that’s easy to scan and lets us discover new content faster.

Other Microsoft Store improvements. Business owners will be happy to hear that Microsoft Store ads will now reach 150+ regions worldwide, significantly increasing the audiences they can target. Furthermore, there will be enhancements to the Backup and Restore functionality to give users a more seamless experience in case they switch devices.

File Explorer changes. Rumor has it that Microsoft is working on a Gallery to be embedded within the File Explorer. The addition of a Recommended section might be on the horizon as well.

Widget Panel update. The introduction of the Widget Panel in itself was exciting for many. As a next step in the development of this feature, Microsoft is planning to make it possible to pin widgets to the desktop.

Presence sensor. You might actually already have this one, as it was rolled out as part of Moment 3 for compatible devices. With the Presence sensing app, found in the Privacy settings, you can decide which (if any) apps use APIs to detect the state of your activity on Windows. This can significantly enhance privacy and security, as you can have apps containing sensitive data lock automatically when unattended. If you’re a laptop user, it can also be beneficial to your battery life.

Bluetooth LE. Microsoft is adding support for Bluetooth Low Energy, a functionality that allows reduced battery consumption when devices are connected.
Adding more languages to the Live Captions feature. This specification is only as powerful as the languages it supports. Microsoft is reportedly working on expanding the list with 10 more languages.

Summary

We’ve got some interesting stuff to look forward to with the next major Windows 11 update. And these are just the things the Internet’s actually heard of, so who knows what else Microsoft might be planning? It remains to be seen, hopefully just a few months from now. 23H2 has been released on October 31st.

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Option 1 – Sync Date and Time

Option 2 – Try to reset the affected browser

Mozilla Firefox

Google Chrome

Internet Explorer

Option 3 – Temporarily disable Firewall and third-party antivirus

Option 4 – Disable the Proxy server

Option 5 – Check your VPN

Option 1 – Try removing the Intel Rapid Storage Technology or IRST drivers

Option 2 – Try updating the Intel Rapid Storage Technology or IRST drivers

Option 3 – Try using the System File Checker via Command Prompt

What is Search.schooldozer.com? And how does it function?

How is Search.schooldozer.com distributed over the web?

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

Internet Explorer

Option 1 – Disable Chrome & Firefox auto-update via Windows Services Manager

Option 2 – Disable Chrome & Firefox auto-update via System Configuration utility or MSConfig

What you will need?

Making Windows 10 UBS drive

Option 1 – Try using PowerShell to manually set the IPv4 properties

Option 2 – Try editing the rasphone.pbk files

Option 3 – Enable the Split Tunneling if you use VPN

Error Code 0x80073afc - What is it?

Solution

Further Information and Manual Repair

Method 1:

Method 2:

Method 3:

Option 1 – Temporarily disable Firewall and third-party antivirus

Option 2 – Try changing the Internet Options settings

Option 3 – Try clearing browser data

Option 4 – Get rid of any conflicting browser extensions

Option 5 – Try to remove Proxy

Option 6 – Try reinstalling your browser

Option 1 – Try flushing the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders

Option 2 – Select the Keep your files option

Option 3 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Option 4 – Try to run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

Option 5 – Perform a clean install

What’s Windows 11 23H2 bringing?

Summary