Facebook messengers alternatives

People are becoming more and more concerned with their privacy and Facebook's flagship messaging application is caught between it all. While still widely popular it has becoming to lose its ground due to many unanswered questions about privacy encryption.

Lucky for all of us there are alternatives for more secure messaging.

SIGNAL

Arguably the most secure of all well-regarded messaging apps, Signal is the favorite of the European Commission, as well as newsrooms around the world. While Signal doesn’t disclose how many daily or monthly users the app has, Google’s Play Store says it has been installed more than 50 million times. While using Signal, each voice or video call connected through the app includes full end-to-end encryption.

Signal takes an extra step by hiding message metadata so that the location of the original message is missing. While it asks for your mobile number, that number isn’t used with your profile. Instead, it acts as a numeric username. Once registered, you will find 1-1 chat, audio, and video calls, disappearing or “secret” chats, and a privacy lock so nobody can access the app even if they have your phone. Best of all, it’s completely free to use.

TELEGRAM

One of the biggest competitors to Facebook Messenger (and WhatsApp), Telegram is a very strong alternative. With more than 400 million users, it offers an interface that should feel right at home for anyone coming from Messenger. Telegram offers some huge benefits over Messenger, including features like groups that can hold up to 200,000 members for a chat. There is no limit on your media or chat size, and you can share all types of files between users and in groups.

From a privacy standpoint, Telegram has robust security, but it is worth noting that only “secret” messages are end-to-end encrypted and can self-destruct. Non-secret messages can be stored on Telegram’s servers so you can pick them up between your devices quickly. That’s a consideration worth knowing prior to making Telegram your default Messenger replacement. Telegram is free across all platforms.

THREEMA

Rising in popularity, Threema is another privacy-focused alternative that has quickly become a competitor to Facebook Messenger. This paid service ($2.99 on both App Store and Play Store) is a pay-once, use forever option. Once you pay the small fee, you gain all of Threema’s touted privacy options, like open-source end-to-end encryption for both messages and calls.

Like Signal, Threema won’t require you to link any phone numbers or emails to your account. All chats are handled anonymously, and the service generates a random user ID when you first open and register for the app. No data is collected from any of your chats and no ads are shown.

The Swiss-made app does have its own servers hosted in Switzerland, which do not store any chat messages. Another privacy benefit of Threema is the notion that all of your contact lists, groups, and user profiles are hosted on your device, not on the Swiss servers. Because of that, Threema can once again state that none of your personal info is stored anywhere they have access.

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Windows PC advantages over Apple Mac

In the last article, we have covered various advantages of Apple hardware over Windows PC, however, PC has their own strengths and advantages over MACs as well. Join us as we explore why would you choose Windows PC over MAC.

Windows PC

Hardware customization

If you like to customize and build your own hardware and customize your existing computer then MACs are out of the picture, on other hand, computers based on Windows operating system are much more flexible in terms of customization.

While Apple hardware is locked and only allows small changes to it, computers running on Windows are free and open to various upgrades and modifications so if you like to play with hardware Windows is your platform.

Gaming

There are games on MAC true but their numbers can not compare to games available for the Windows platform. On top of that, most latest and best gaming hardware is not even available on Apple platforms so if you plan to game in high resolutions and play the latest games there really is no option other than Windows.

Windows Platforms also has multiple emulators that you can use to play games from other older platforms and Microsoft since it owns Xbox has some great plans for both PC and Xbox gaming.

Software back compatibility

Since the introduction of the new MAC OS X, apple really lost a lot of application back compatibility, and a lot of old legacy software can not be run on modern Apple computers. Windows on the other hand have always tried and succeeded in keeping maximum compatibility with older and legacy software.

Also on the Windows platform, there is a lot of community support for old and legacy software so even if it is not officially supported it is backed up by the community.

Software variability

In terms of where can you find the most different software, you need to look no further than the Windows platform. How Windows itself has great backward compatibility and a lot of developers are using it to create new software thanks to Visual Studio and .NET Windows has cemented itself as a platform with the most available software.

The popularity of Windows as the home operating system and as a gaming platform has made it quite interesting in eyes of various developers and tons of small applications are made daily for it. Windows 11 has also brought native android support to it and that has just expanded its already impressive catalog of applications.

Freedom of choice

Overall Windows PC is most appealing for users that like to be able to choose everything, from hardware components to software they would like to use. No other platform will give you larger freedom of choice and better personalization options.

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How to Fix Stop Error 7B

What is Stop Error 7B?

Stop error 7B is a blue screen of death error code that occurs during Windows XP setup or after installation. The error message is displayed in either of the following formats:
  • STOP: 0x0000007B (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)
  • INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
  • ‘A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damages’
  • Setup has encountered a fatal error that prevents it from continuing.
  • Setup cannot continue. Power down or reboot your computer now.

Solution

Restoro box imageError Causes

There is no one particular cause for this error. The Stop error 7B may be triggered due to multiple reasons. These include:
  • Boot Sector Viruses
  • Device Driver Issues
  • Poor Windows XP installation
  • Registry Corruption
If you come across this error code on your PC, it is advisable to fix it right away particularly because it is a blue screen of death error that can cause severe damages to your system. It can lead to system failure, crash, and valuable data loss.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Here we’ve listed for you the best PC repair solutions to resolve and fix stop error 7B.

Cause: Boot Sector Viruses

Solution: Stop error 7B can occur when infected with a boot sector virus. If this is the cause, then first download a powerful antivirus on your system. After downloading it, run it to scan your PC for viral infection. Immediately delete the viruses if found. However, if the virus is too powerful, the antivirus may fail to remove it. In such an event, you will have to repartition and format your hard disk and then later reinstall Windows XP.

Cause: Device Driver Issues

Solution: If the boot controller is not properly configured or the driver is not updated, Stop error 7B can occur.  When this happens, simply restart your system and press F8 to go to the advanced boot options. Here choose the Last Known Good Configuration option. After that boot into Windows and then perform a system restore. Now go to the start menu and type Device Manager in the search box. To access the Device Manager window it may prompt you to enter an administrator password, insert it to proceed. Now go to Device Manager and perform a driver rollback to reinstall the drivers generating this stop error. By following these simple steps you can easily resolve device driver and configuration issues.

Cause: Poor Windows XP Installation

Solution:  In this case, you will have to perform a Windows start-up repair. This can be done by booting Windows XP from CD. Simply press enter at setup Windows Screen when prompted. Then press R to repair Windows XP installation. This procedure copies the original Windows files over the bad ones.

Cause: Registry Corruption

Solution: Sometimes the stop error 7B is also triggered by the registry corruption. When this happens, it is advisable to download and run Restoro software for PC scan and repair. Restoro is a powerful, advanced, and highly functional registry cleaner. It is deployed with intuitive algorithms that detect registry issues and errors like Stop error 7B on your system in seconds.  It wipes out clutter from your hard disk, repairs damaged files and the corrupted registry. It is safe, efficient, and bug-free. It is also compatible with all Windows versions. In addition to this, it is also embedded with other utilities like an antivirus, a system optimizer, and Active X controls, and a class ID scanner. Click here to download Restoro and resolve to stop error 7B on your PC immediately!
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Keyboard folder shortcut in Windows 11
If you are visiting a single folder many times during the day it might be beneficial to place its shortcut on the desktop for easy access. But did you know that you can also set a keyboard shortcut for that same folder shortcut making it available simply by clicking desired key combination? keyboard shortcutIn order to make a keyboard shortcut for the desired folder know that it is available only when you have a shortcut of the desired folder, it cannot be done on the folder itself, only on its shortcut. Now folder shortcut does not need to reside on desktop, you can place it anywhere you like, but it must be a shortcut. So the first step is of course to make a shortcut of the folder that you wish to have access via keyboard key combination and place it where you wish. Once you have done this step, right-click on it and choose properties. Inside properties at the top click on the Shortcut tab and then inside Shortcut Key, press the key combination that you wish to associate with this folder. Confirm with OK and start using fast folder access with your desired key combination.
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Screensaver Timeout Settings
One of the cool and interesting features in Windows is the Screensaver which allows users to display animation or change the wallpaper automatically when the computer is not being used. This feature can also time out and lock your computer when it remains idle for quite some time. However, if you notice that the screensaver of your computer turns on a lot earlier, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how you can change the timeout settings of the screensaver of your Windows 10 computer. Usually, the screensaver in Windows 10 is turned off by default, however, if some other user has turned it on or if you have turned it on, you can actually change the timeout settings of the screensaver using several methods. You can do it through the Personalization settings, Registry Editor, as well as the Group Policy Editor. Before you proceed with the instructions provided below, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. Once done, follow each one of the suggestions carefully to successfully change the Screensaver timeout settings in Windows 10.

Option 1 – Modify the timeout settings of Screensaver via Personalization settings

  • Open the Start menu and type “screen saver” in the field.
  • On the search results that appear, click on the “Change Screen Saver” option.
  • From there, you have the option to change the screen saver type, preview, open settings, change the wait time, as well as choose to display lock screen on your resume.
  • Now to change the timeout settings of your screensaver, you have to increase the wait time from 1 to 15 or anything that works for you.
  • Once done, click OK and exit to save the changes made.

Option 2 – Try to change the screensaver time via Registry Editor

The next option you can try to change the timeout settings in the screensaver is using the Registry Editor. To get started, follow these steps:
  • Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  • Next, navigate to this registry path: ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindows
  • From there, right-click on Windows located in the right pane and select New > Key.
  • Name the key as “Control Panel” and right-click on it and select New > Key and then name it as “Desktop”.
  • Once done, click on the newly created Desktop key to highlight it.
  • After that, right-click on any empty space in the right pane and select New > String Value and then type “ScreenSaveTimeOut” and hit Enter to save it.
  • Now right-click on ScreenSaveTimeOut and select Modify and then set its value data in seconds.
  • Click on OK and exit the Registry Editor to save the changes made.

Option 3 – Change Screensaver timeout settings via Group Policy Editor

  • Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
  • Next, navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization.
  • Then look for a policy setting named “Screen saver timeout” and double click on it and then click on the Enabled option to enable it.
  • Add the screen timeout in seconds and click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes.
  • Restart your computer.
Note: If you want to disable the screensaver feature in your computer, you can always do so by disabling a policy setting named “Enable Screen Saver”.
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Intel Arc A770 GPU

intel's first gaming card that will hit the market soon has been shown in its innovation event, the Intel Arc A770. In its core ticks ACM-G10, coming with 32 Xe-cores and all the way up to 16GB of GDDR6 memory (the basic entry-level version will have 8GB of GDDR6). The card will support ray tracing and supersampling with Intel's XeSS.

intel arc a770

This is Intel's first gaming desktop GPU and after testing with some YouTube channels it turned out that the card itself sits somewhere between nVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti and an RTX 3070 so it will still be low in performance compared with the new RTX 4090 or AMD's new RDNA3 upcoming lineup. But as stated this is Intel's first gaming graphics card and having this kind of performance is no small feat for the first-time product.

One thing that is really great tho and that is going for Arc A770 GPU is its price! The Limited Edition card will cost $329 which is at this moment most cheapest GPU currently on the market in that performance range. nVIDIA is between $500 and $700 for comparison and if Intel can hold on to its performance with almost half the price card could be a great hit among gamers. GPU itself will launch on October 12th.

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Custom widgets in Windows 11 later
windows custom widgetsOriginally Microsoft has imagined its widgets menu as Microsoft-only widgets but it seems that they have changed their mind. Due to the latest leak, it seems that Microsoft will open the widgets menu to 3rd party developers as well but at launch, it will be only official widgets. It was hinted that later widgets menu will be open to developers who want to bring their own stuff into it. Distribution, date, and technology that will need to be used in order to create your widget have not been discussed nor leaked at a given time but in some way, I am very glad that at least some customization will be in Windows 11. It is funny and amusing how some things that were in Windows Vista are getting back like glass design, round corners, and widgets. Let’s just hope Windows 11 will be a better Windows than Vista was.
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Your Windows license will expire soon
If you suddenly get a message telling you that “Your Windows license will expire soon, You need to activate Windows in Settings” on your Windows 10 computer but you know that your Windows 10 is already activated. Worry not for this post will help you get rid of that error message right away. Before you get started, make sure that you have the Windows product key with you. If you don’t, you can get it by running the following command in an elevated Command Prompt:
wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey
Take note of the product key and then proceed to the options given below.

Option 1 – Try activating Windows 10 again or use another product key

  • If you’re sure that you have the correct product key, click the Go to the Settings button.
  • After that, click the Activate button once again.
  • If you have another license key, you can also use that as well, just simply click on the Change product key.
  • Then enter the new product key and click on Activate. That should fix the problem, if it doesn’t, refer to the next option below.

Option 2 – Try to reset the licensing status

  • Click the Start button and then type “cmd” in the Search box and then tap Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.
  • Next, type the “slmgr –rearm” and hit Enter to reset the licensing status.
  • Restart your computer and check if the error is now gone or not.

Option 3 – Try uninstalling the product key and re-enter it once more.

  • The first thing you have to do to uninstall the product key is to know the Activation ID of your Windows installation. To do so, open an elevated Command Prompt and type this command, and hit Enter – vbs /dlv
  • After you enter the command, you should see the licensing status and Activation ID. And to get all the Activation IDs of all the installed Windows versions, key in this command and hit Enter – vbs /dlv all
Note: The “/dlv” parameter will give you the license information for the installed operating system.
  • After you enter the second command, you should see a Windows Script Host window with all the Windows licensing and activation status. Take note of the Activation ID.
  • Next, in the same elevated Command Prompt, type this command – slmgr /upk <Activation ID>
Note: In the third given command, “/upk” stands for “uninstall product key”. This parameter uninstalls the product key of the current Windows edition.
  • Restart your PC. After that, your computer will be in an unlicensed state so you need to re-enter the product key again.

Option 4 – Try rebuilding the Tokens.dat file.

The issue might be caused by a corrupted Tokens.dat file. The Tokens.dat file is a digitally signed file that stores most of the Windows Activation files so if it is corrupted then no wonder you’re having activation issues. To rebuild the Tokens.dat file, refer to these steps:
  • From the WinX Menu, open an elevated Command Prompt.
  • After opening Command Prompt, you need to type each one of the following commands and after you type each command, hit Enter.
    • net stop sppsvc
    • cd %windir%ServiceProfilesLocalServiceAppDataLocalMicrosoftWSLicense
    • ren tokens.dat tokens.bar
    • net start sppsvc
    • exe %windir%system32slmgr.vbs /rilc
  • Now restart your computer.

Option 5 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

  • Go to Settings and then select Activation.
  • After that, click on the Windows Activation and then troubleshoot. This will help you address most of the commonly found activation issues in Windows devices.

Option 6 – Try activating Windows 10 via mobile phone

Activating Windows 10 can also be done using your phone. Just note that you have to call Microsoft to do so.
  • In the Start Search box, type in “Slui 4” and tap Enter.
  • Next, select your country and click on Next.
  • Keep the window open and call the toll-free number of the country you’re from.
  • Afterward, a confirmation ID should be given by the automated system which you must take a note of.
  • Finally, in the box on the window, type in the confirmation ID and click on the Activate button. That should do it.
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CLR20R3 error while launching an Application
CLR20R3 error is received when you are launching an application in Windows 10. It can happen because of two reasons, a corrupted application file or missing system components. Keep on reading in order to find solutions to fix this error.
  1. Run the program in compatibility mode

    Locate problematic application executable file Right-click on executable Click on properties Go to the compatibility tab and try running the application in the previous version of Windows or as an administrator.
  2. Reset Windows media component

    Right-click on Start, then left-click on command prompt (admin) In command prompt type next command and after each line of command press ENTER regsvr32 atl.dll cd C:\WINDOWS\eHome ehSched /unregServer ehSched /service ehRecvr /unregServer ehRecvr /service ehRec.exe /unregServer ehRec.exe /regserver ehmsas.exe /unregServer ehmsas.exe /regserver
  3. Reinstall Windows media player

    Go to control panel Click on Program and Features > Turn Windows feature on or off. Expand Media Features, uncheck Windows Media Player, and click Ok. Restart your PC, go through the same steps, tick Windows Media Player, and restart your computer once again.
  4. Reinstall .NET framework

    Go to control panel Click on Program and Features > Turn Windows feature on or off. Uncheck “.NET Framework 3.5” and “.NET Framework 4.8”, and click Ok. Restart your computer, go through the same steps, check “.NET Framework 3.5” and “.NET Framework 4.8”, and restart your computer once again.
  5. Update Windows

    Go to settings and check for updates
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Fix Windows was unable to repair the drive
If you connected your Hard Disk, USB, or SD card to your Windows 10 computer and you suddenly encounter an error that says, “Windows was unable to repair the drive”, read on as this post will help you fix the problem. This kind of error indicates that the file system on the drive has become corrupted and that ChkDsk was not able to repair the problem. You can also encounter this error when you try to run the ChkDsk utility to repair the system. This kind of error is most likely due to the general corruption of the contents in the drive. It is also possible that you removed the external drive without using the “Safely remove hardware” option or it could be that the drive is still in use. To fix the problem, the obvious thing to do is to safely remove the external drive by using the “Safely remove hardware” option. If it didn’t work, you can try to run the CHKDSK utility from the command line or you could also restart your computer in a Clean Boot State and then run the scan. Before you proceed with the potential fixes provided below, make sure that you create a system restore point first or you could also create a backup copy of the data to an external drive.

Option 1 – Run the CHKDSK utility from the command line

Although some users reported getting the “Windows was unable to repair the drive” when they run a CHKDSK scan, other users reported that running it also fixed the error. Thus, you can try to run it and see if it works or not.
  • In the Windows Search box, type “command prompt” and from the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
  • After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Partition Letter>: /f
  • The command you entered will start to check for errors and fix them automatically. Else, it will throw an error message saying, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like the schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”.
  • Tap the Y key to schedule Disk Check the next time your computer restarts.

Option 2 – Restart your computer in a Clean Boot State

There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that triggers the “Windows was unable to repair the drive” error to appear when you connect your external drive or run the CHKDSK utility. To identify which program is causing the problem, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.
  • Log onto your PC as an administrator.
  • Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
  • From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
  • Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
  • Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
  • Click Disable all.
  • Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
  • Once your computer has restarted in a Clean Boot State, perform your scan again and see if it now works, and then start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.
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How to Fix TrayApp Error 1706
What is TrayApp Error 1706? A TrayApp Error 1706 is not something you want to see. It is generally caused by an error in hexadecimal formatting, which is a common format employed by software programmers for Windows OS-compatible hardware drivers, Windows system files, and software apps. Developers and manufacturers of hardware drivers and software apps employ different codes in order to indicate different types of errors. The TrayApp error 1706 occurs in a long numeric code with a technical explanation of the cause. In many cases, the TrayApp error 1706 can have different TrayApp error 1706 parameters. It will usually sport a message like:
  • Install Error 1706 Trayapp
  • Reinstall Error 1706 Trayapp
  • Error 1706 Trayapp crash
  • Error 1706 Trayapp is missing
  • Remove Error 1706 Trayapp
  • Download Error 1706 Trayapp
  • Error 1706 Trayapp virus

Solution

Restoro box imageError Causes

More often than not, the TrayApp error will occur because there are damaged files in your operating system. When the Windows system file entry gets corrupt, it means that there malfunctioning in your system and it can be exposed to major security threats. And if it’s not resolved, it can potentially result in complete and permanent data loss and can make your storage media or your system as a whole inoperable. There can be other triggers for the TrayApp error, the common of which include:
  • Incomplete installation of software
  • Incomplete un-installation of software
  • Improper deleting of hardware drivers
  • Improper deleting of software applications
If you have the TrayApp error, you realize how common it is when restarting your system followed an improper shutdown or a recent malware or virus recovery. These situations result in corruption or deletion of essential system files. When Windows system files get corrupted or go missing, the data that is needed to run software won’t be linked properly.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There are two common manual ways of fixing TrayApp error 1706. The manual solution is:

Boot Your System and Log in As Administrator.

  • Click on Start and select All Programs.
  • Go to Accessories, then System Tools, and select System Restore.
  • In the dialog box, select, ‘Restore computer to an earlier date’ and then click on Next.
Click next twice on the dialog boxes and then the Automatic System Restore will start and restart your device.

Reimage Plus Fix for Trayapp Error 1706

This is the easiest way to resolve TrayApp Error 1706. However, there are cases when the manual process may not really work, and this can be caused by improper maintenance of your system. For that, Restoro is your short and comprehensive answer. Restoro is a multi-functional PC Fixer that works as an antivirus, registry cleaner, system optimizer, and much more. It can not only help resolve TrayApp Error 1706, but can also resolve other errors that can hinder the performance of your system, programs, and applications. It can also clean your registry and optimize your system to make it faster and quick loading. The software is compatible with all Windows versions. Just click here and download Restoro and get rid of any issues in your system!
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