Fix Can’t Find Games on Twitch

Having an eMail in today's modern world is no longer a privilege or being geeky, it has surely become a necessity. From Facebook to LinkedIn or Steam many services today require you to have an account in order to use them, and in order to create an account, you need working eMail. That being said many people today have several eMail accounts, one for social media, one for work, maybe even one for very close friends and family. How creating eMail today is completely free we might end up with several eMail accounts. eMail clients have also evolved much since their first days and became more than just applications for receiving eMails, today they can take various different tasks having additional features built into them like calendar, batch eMail processing, etc. Taking all of said into account I am presenting to you within my personal opinion some of the best eMail clients starting with free ones.

Best free eMail clients

Google Gmail

https://gmail.com It would be very difficult to even start a free eMail list without mentioning Google's Gmail. Introduced all the way back in 2004 as an invite-only service it became over time the most popular email platform largely due to the fact Google is offering free eMail accounts. There are a lot of good things to be said about Gmail itself, most of the area is clutter-free and the largest space is reserved for eMail itself letting users focus on what is important. WEB client itself means that you do not need to have any application installed on your device, altho via Google chrome, you can use Gmail offline offering you flexibility if needed. The ability to connect and manage other accounts like Outlook, Yahoo, etc is just making Gmail even more attractive, and the snooze feature is a really neat little detail that will pause eMail notifications if you need to focus on other things. Lack of organizing messages into folders is a little confusing since Gmail offers its own unique label system but sometimes I need to have old reliable save eMail to folder. All in all, Gmail is a great service and it offers a great eMail on the go experience.

Mail eMail client

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/mail-and-calendar/ Free Windows eMail client simply called Mail is what was once outlook express. Mail itself has the ability to work with other popular accounts like Google Gmail account, Yahoo, iCloud etc. How it comes with Windows OS and it integrates very well with Microsoft Calendar, this eMail client is for many the first choice. On the negative side, I might say this is a strip-down version of Outlook which is paid solution so some features are missing if we would compare the two. Overall, a simple and nice eMail client worth your time, especially if you are on the Windows platform.

Mozilla Thunderbird

https://www.thunderbird.net Great eMail client matching in functions against paid and premium solutions of big tech companies. Fueled with plenty of customization options and reskinning ones this eMail client offers a lot for its free price tag. It is also fueled by Mozilla community focusing on privacy and security. It can work with any mail service and it is lightweight with a clean look, altho the look itself can be heavily customized. The bad side is that client itself relies on email services to provide cloud-based emails, so if you are receiving your email via a service that does not have a cloud-based service in itself all of your received emails will be locked to the computer where you have received them. Also customizing it can be sometimes a little too technical for the average computer user. All in all, Thunderbird is one great eMail client and it would be a shame not to use it because of its technical side, if you need a reliable and secure eMail client on a single machine, look no further than Thunderbird.

Paid eMail clients

Microsoft Outlook

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/ Outlook comes as a part of the Microsoft Office suite and as one of the oldest eMail clients, it is still widely popular and adopted through many users and businesses. It has tight integration with all Microsoft services and full integration with Calendar making it one of the if not the best eMail client out there. Outlook also has a free online service completely free for personal use as well. The downside is that you can not get it as a separate product if you want a business version other than as a part of the Office suite. The final verdict would be that this is perhaps the best eMail client out but the big downside is that there is no desktop version outside the Office suite.

eM Client

https://www.emclient.com/ eM Client offers a wide array of features, including a calendar, contacts, and chat. Support is provided for all the major email services including Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and Outlook.com. The latest version also offers PGP encryption, live backup, basic image editing capabilities, and auto-replies for Gmail. Its automatic system makes it very easy to get emails from other services since there is no manual setting, all that is needed is to type in your email and eM Client will do everything else automatically. A one-time purchase is not pricy and it could offer some features that some free clients are missing. Go check it out with a free trial and see if it is for you.

Mailbird

https://www.getmailbird.com This eMail client's main focus is the simplicity of use with visual appeal while tackling multiple eMail accounts. It has many built-in apps along with a customizable interface. Unlike some more Microsoft-centric email clients, Mailbird Business supports a diverse range of integrated apps, including WhatsApp, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, and Slack, all making for a better-streamlined workflow. The downside of this client is the yearly subscription plan. I think people, in general, want to get away from software subscription plans so I will include this as a downside but bear in mind it is downside just in terms of a business plan not in the client itself.

Inky

https://www.inky.com/ Inky is eMail client if you are looking for security. It uses AI along with machine learning in order to block all types of phishing attacks that can get through to other clients. The proprietary machine learning technology can literally read an email to determine if it has phishing content, and then is able to quarantine the email or deliver it with the malicious links disabled. It also takes things a step further and offers an analytics dashboard, which allows an administrator to see patterns of attacks based on dates, or targeted users. The downside is that client itself is so much focused on security that sometimes some nonsecurity features get overlooked and provide a poor experience but if you need a good and greatly secured eMail client Inky is one to check out.

Error Code 0x8000ffff - What is it?

Error Code 0x8000ffff is an error that is often experienced while attempting to install updates on a Windows machine. It has been found in Windows 10, although the error has been present in the Windows operating systems dating back to Windows Vista.

Common symptoms include:

• Inability to download updates for the operating system
• Inability to successfully run updates for the operating system through to completion

There are several basic Windows tools that can be used to attempt to resolve Error Code 0x8000ffff on your machine. While some of these tools may be familiar for basic users, others may require advanced competency in order to be used correctly. If you are unsure of your ability to complete the methods listed below in order to resolve this error code on your system, you may need to get in touch with a computer repair technician who is competent in dealing with Windows Update repairs.

Solution

Error Causes

The most common cause of Error Code 0x8000ffff is that there is a problem within one of the system files or the registry entries on the computer. There are a number of reasons why a device could have an error in these places, from conflicting software commands to updates that were not installed correctly, to bugs within the system, to viruses or malware that have corrupted the necessary files.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There are several common ways that users can attempt to resolve the appearance of Error Code 0x8000ffff on their Windows devices. If you are not sure that you can follow these steps through to completion, you would be well advised to get in touch with a qualified computer repair technician to help you to finish out the repair process.

Here are the best methods to resolve Error Code 0x8000ffff on your Windows machine:

Method One:  Restart Your Computer

It may sound obvious, but one of the most effective ways to resolve Error Code 0x8000ffff on your machine is to simply reboot your computer. In some cases, the error shows up because there are processes that the system believes are still running when they really aren’t. Restarting your machine also allows your system to apply any previous changes that have been made and to mark any installations that have been undertaken as being complete.

Reattempt your update installations after you have restarted your computer to see if you are able to finish them out successfully.

Method Two:  Run the Windows Registry Repair Tool

The Windows Registry Repair tool is an asset that can make it easy for your system to scan for potential problems in the registry and notify you as to their status. In many cases, the Registry Repair tool can fix the problems that it finds all on its own, although in some cases, you may receive a message that states an error was found that could not be resolved through the program.

The simplest way to access the Windows Registry Repair tool is to do a search for it within the search bar in the Start menu. Once you begin to run the Registry Repair tool, it can take a while to complete its scan, so be prepared to wait for some time once you start it.

Once the tool has completed its scan of your system, it’s always a good idea to reboot your computer so that all of the changes that have been made to the system can be applied successfully to the operating system.

Method Three:  Run the Windows Fix It Tool

Another great tool to help in the resolution is the Windows Fix It tool. You can download it directly from the Microsoft website. Once you run it, it will complete a scan of your system to find any potential hang-ups and to attempt to resolve them. After you run the scan, it is a good idea to reboot your computer to allow all changes to be recognized and applied properly.

Method Four: Use An Automated Tool

If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 10 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.

Something we are used to doing in a certain way inside Windows 10 is slightly changed in Windows 11. One of those things is how you open task manager, well kind of. Option to right-click on the taskbar and launch task manager is gone but do not worry there are other same and simple ways you can launch it.

1. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC or CTRL + ALT + DEL
2. Right-click on the START button
3. Type task manager in start search on top in the start menu
4. Type taskmgr in command prompt
5. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open run dialog and type in taskmgr

And that’s it, now depending on your situation, you might use different methods to evoke task manager.

KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED seems to be connected primarily to a third-party driver, e1d65x64.sys associated with the Intel(R) Gigabit adapter, NIC/Wired network NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) 6.x driver. Error is known to produce the dreaded blue screen of death or BSOD. Most usually error is connected with gaming on Windows 10 computer and it manifests itself during gaming sessions. If you are unlucky and you are faced with this unfortunate error we will be happy to try to help you and present with tips and tricks in order for you to find a solution for it. Before you proceed with the provided solutions, be sure you have sufficient disk space on the Windows drive, run Disk Cleanup and then run CHKDSK.

1) Run the Blue Screen Online Troubleshooter

Open Control Panel, change the view setting to icons. Click Troubleshooting, and click “View all” in the tasks pane. Click “Blue Screen”. This opens the Blue Screen Troubleshooter.

2) Run Driver Verifier

1. Start a Command Prompt window by selecting Run as an administrator, and type verifier to open Driver Verifier Manager.
2. Select Create standard settings (the default task), and select Next. You can also choose to Create custom settings to select from predefined settings, or to select individual options. For more information, see Driver Verifier options and rule classes and Selecting Driver Verifier Options.
3. Under Select what drivers to verify, choose one of the selection schemes described in the following table.

   Driver verifier table:

   Option	Recommended use
   Automatically select unsigned drivers	Useful for testing on computers that are running versions of Windows that do not require signed drivers.
   Automatically select drivers built for older versions of Windows	Useful for testing driver compatibility with newer versions of Windows.
   Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer	Provides maximum coverage in terms of the number of drivers that are tested on a system. This option is useful for test scenarios where a driver can interact with other devices or drivers on a system. This option can also exhaust the resources available for Special Pool and some resource tracking. Testing all drivers can also adversely affect system performance.
   Select driver names from a list	In most cases, you will want to specify which drivers to test. Selecting all drivers in a device stack allows the Enhanced I/O Verification option to track objects and check compliance because an I/O request packet (IRP) is passed between each of the drivers in the stack, which allows for a greater level of detail to be provided when an error is detected. Select a single driver if you are running a test scenario that measures system or driver performance metrics, or if you want to allocate the greatest number of resources available for detecting memory corruption or resource tracking issues (such as deadlocks or mutexes). The Special Pool and I/O Verification options are more effective when used on one driver at a time.

4. If you chose Select driver names from a list, select Next, and then select one or more specific drivers.
5. Select Finish, and then restart the computer.

3) Update network device drivers

Go to the official Intel website and try to find newer versions of drivers, if there are none perhaps you will need to revert back to the previous version.

4) Scan memory for issues

Run a memory test on your system, sometimes these errors can be traced back to a faulty RAM bank.

5) Stop over-clocking your PC

If you have overclocked your PC please reverse it back to its original state and see if that would solve the issue

6) Perform System Restore to the previous restore point

If none of the previous solutions have bared fruit, roll back to a previous restore point and that should solve the issue.

If you suddenly receive an error message that says, “The selected boot device failed, Press <Enter> to Continue” during an installation on your Windows 10 computer, you should know that this kind of error can occur when you use a USB stick as well as a DVD Disk to boot from. This error indicates that some settings inside your BIOS are not compatible with the bootable device that you have created. Note that fixing this kind of error does not vary from device to device at all. All you have to do is change some settings in the BIOS and create a proper bootable disk. Follow the options given below to fix the “The selected boot device failed, Press <Enter> to Continue” error. The options below do not have to be necessarily followed in the same sequence since you can create a bootable USB drive before you change some settings in the BIOS.

Option 1 – Disable the Secure Boot in the BIOS

Disabling the Secure Boot in the BIOS settings is definitely recommended to resolve the issue. To disable Secure Boot, here’s what you have to do:

• First, boot your computer into Windows 10.
• Next, go to Settings > Windows Update. From there, check if there is anything that you have to download and install if you see any available updates. Usually, OEMs send and update the list of trusted hardware, drivers, and operating systems for your computer.
• After that, go to the BIOS of your computer.
• Then go to Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Startup options. If you click on Restart Now, it will restart your computer and give you all the advanced options.
• Next, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options. As you can see, this screen offers you further Options including System Restore, Startup repair, Go back to the previous version, Command Prompt, System Image Recovery, and UEFI Firmware Settings.
• Select the UEFI Firmware Settings which will take you to the BIOS.
• From there, go to the Security > Boot > Authentication tab where you should see Secure Boot. Note that every OEM has its own way of implementing the options so it varies.
• Next, set Secure Boot to Disabled and set Legacy Support to On or Enabled.
• Save the changes made and exit. Afterward, your computer will reboot.

Option 2 – Make a proper bootable USB Drive/Stick

To make a proper bootable USB drive, you need to use the Windows Media Creation tool. The Media Creation tool in Windows allows you to use the ISO installation file to make a bootable device that you can use to install Windows on your PC. Note that this is kind of different from the usual installation process as it could erase your computer’s current settings and data on the primary drive. Thus, before you proceed, you need to backup all your data into some removable drive and then use the Media Creation Tool to make a bootable drive.

• After making the bootable drive, you need to plug it into your computer and then reboot.
• Next, tap the F10 or Esc key to open the boot options.
• Now set the boot priority of the removable drive the highest. Once the setup comes forth, follow the next onscreen instructions and install Windows without any problems.

Today we will be solving the Device not found 3F0 error which is a common error, especially among HP (HP Pavilion G6), Lenovo, Acer, and Dell laptops/desktops. This error occurs when the computer is turned ON and when the system is about to boot. It can happen on windows 7,  8, or 10. When a mentioned error occurs one of the following messages will be displayed on your screen:

• “No bootable device – insert boot disk and press any key”
• “No Boot Device Found. Press any key to reboot the machine”
• “Boot Device Not Found. Please install an operating system on your hard disk. Hard Disk (3FO)”
• “No boot device is available”

The most common reasons for 3F0 error to occur is:

• Using the unbootable device or disk to boot from.
• If the bootable hard drive you are using might have corrupted or damaged somehow.
• MBR or boot sector is damaged on the bootable hard drive.
• If your system has gone through a virus or malware attack.
• The wrong boot order in the BIOS.
• Hard disk connection problem.
• System files or boot files unknowingly damaged.
• Corrupt hard drive partitions.

This is well, the most simple solution and the easiest one, try to change the boot sequence in the BIOS settings of your motherboard. Sometimes most easier solutions can provide great results and solve our problems. If sadly this fails and the issue persists move to the next solution.

2: Perform a Hard Reset

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Performing hard reset can often solve issues, to perform a hard reset do the following:

• Turn off the computer and unplug the power adapter. If there is a removable battery, it should also be removed.
• Then disconnect all peripherals, including the removable hard drive, etc.

then

• Press and hold the power button for 15 seconds to drain all remaining power.
• Insert the battery, and then re-plug the AC adapter into the laptop.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.
• Once the computer starts up properly and the startup menu appears, use the arrow keys to select “Start Windows normally” and then press Enter.

Reconnect everything back of your peripherals. If by any chance problem still persists follow the next step:

3: Test Hard Drive Using HP Diagnostic Tool

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Use the built-in tool in the Hp device to solve the issue:

• Turn on your computer and keep pressing the Esc key until the menu appears on the screen.
• Next, press the F2 key.
• Choose the Components Tests option from the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics menu.
• Select Hard Drive from the Component Tests menu.
• Click on the Quick Test, then click on the Run once button.
• If there are still any issues with your hard drive, then run the Extensive Test.

4: Restore BIOS Default Settings

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• Press the Power button to start the computer, and immediately after this, repeatedly press the F10 key to enter the BIOS setup menu.
• To load and restore BIOS Setup Default settings, press F9 on the BIOS setup menu.
• Once loaded, press F10 to Save and Exit.
• Select yes, and then press Enter when it says Exit Saving Changes.

5: Reconnect Your Hard Drive

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• Turn the computer off and remove the power cable.
• If you have a removable battery, take it out
• Disconnect your hard drive and then connect it back.
• Reassemble your computer and turn the computer on to see if it fixed the issue.

6: Fix and Rebuild Damaged MBR

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• Boot from the original installation DVD (or the recovery USB)
• At the Welcome screen, click Repair your computer.
• Choose Troubleshoot.
• Choose Command Prompt.
• When the Command Prompt loads, type the following commands: bootrec /FixMbr bootrec /FixBoot bootrec /ScanOs bootrec /RebuildBcd.

7: Fix Operating System

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• Prepare a Windows installation disc, CD/DVD or USB flash drive and connect it to your PC.
• During the installation process, launch Command Prompt.
• In Windows 7, under the System Recovery Options tab, click Startup Repair.
• In Windows 8 and Windows 10, click Repair your computer, then select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Automatic Repair (Windows 8) or Startup Repair (Windows 10).

8: Replace the Hard Disk

What Is STOP 0x00000014 Error?

0x00000014 error is actually an error that is always displayed on a STOP message.

It is also known as Blue Screen of Death, abbreviated as BSOD. When this error occurs, the message that is displayed to the user either says ‘STOP: 0x00000014’ or states ‘CREATE_DELETE_LOCK_NOT_LOCKED’. It is crucial to fix this error to ensure your program is functioning appropriately. If this error message is not rectified, you might be opened to other error messages, such as error code 0x000000d1. 

Solution

Error Causes

As far as the causes of STOP 0x00000014 error are concerned, this error usually occurs when a device driver or hardware problem occurs. This error may also occur if users attempt to run some specific application or update or modify an existing application. When a 0x00000014 error occurs, the operating system restarts to disable the PC from performing any further.

Without taking into consideration the causes of its occurrence, it is crucial to make sure that the 0x00000014 error is fixed as soon as possible to eliminate any undesired inconvenience in the future.

Further Information and Manual Repair

A lot of times when an operating system tries to recover from the STOP 0x00000014 error, the user is prompted that Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown.

However, if Windows fails to recover on its own, manual repair has to be performed.

While there are several ways this error can be fixed, some of the most effective and efficient ways of troubleshooting the 0x00000014 error are listed below as follows.

• Restart your computer. Often simply restarting the computer can help eliminate the problem.
• If restarting the system doesn’t help, find if you have recently modified or altered any hardware or driver. It is possible that the 0x00000014 error has been caused by the recent modification. Undo the changes and find out if the error occurs again. If it doesn’t, it is highly likely the issue has been resolved.

However, if the error persists, some solutions that may work are outlined below.

• Start your system using the Last Known Good Configuration. This will undo any changes in the driver and recent registry.
• Another solution is to manually perform System Restore. This will also return the system back to its former state.
• Another idea that my work is to use roll back the device driver. When the driver will return to its previous version, the problem will easily be resolved.

To keep the 0x00000014 error from occurring in the future, it is advised to unplug any newly installed hardware or reinstall any deleted software.

If you're not tech-savvy and wish to get this error code rectified in a jiffy, download a powerful automated tool and perform a computer scan.

This post will guide you in fixing high CPU, Memory, and Disk usage problems caused by NTOSKRNL.exe. NTOSKRNL stands for “NT Operating System Kernel. This file is a kernel image that is responsible for a lot of systems-based processes such as Hardware Virtualization, Process, and Memory. Aside from that, it is also the one that compresses the old pages of memory that reduces the overall amount of memory being used. If you notice that your computer is running slowly and you find that the NTOSKRNL.exe file is hogging your resources such as disk usage, CPU usage as well as memory usage, then read on as this post will guide you in fixing the problem caused by NTOSKRNL.exe. Make use of the options given below to resolve the issues caused by NTOSKRNL.exe. 1] Scan your computer for potential malware There might be a good chance that your computer might be infected with malware. And this malware might be associated with the NTOSKRNL.exe file and hence making it consume a lot of system resources. So, I would really recommend you to make sure that your Antivirus is up to date and then scan your computer with it specifically the C:/Windows/System32 folder because this is the location where the NTOSKRNL.exe file is located.

Option 1 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

The first thing you have to do is to put your computer in a Clean Boot State as this can help you in finding any incompatible programs that are causing the problem.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.

Once you’ve found any incompatible programs, you need to uninstall them. Refer to the steps below to do so.

• In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
• After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
• From there, look for the concerned program and select it and then uninstall it.

Note: If you have downloaded the app from the Windows Store, you can simply right-click on it from the application list and then uninstall it.

Option 2 – Update or rollback drivers

If the first option didn’t work for you, then it’s time to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 3 – Try to run the DISM tool

If the first two options didn’t work, then running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management might. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

Option 4 – Try to stop the Runtime Broker process

The RuntimeBroker.exe or the Runtime Broker process is the one that monitors access to Windows APIs to make sure that the apps do not violate the core security of Windows. This process usually leaves a very small footprint. However, there are times when it consumes more resources than it’s supposed to and does not release memory after the work is done that results in a memory leak. As a result, it affects NTOSKRNL.exe which is why you have to stop the Runtime Broker process. To do so, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
• After opening Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the Runtime Broker process.
• Once you find it, check if it is using more than 15% of your memory. If it is, then you most likely have an issue with an app installed on your computer.
• Select the Runtime Broker process and right-click on it and then click on the End Task option to end its process.

Option 5 – Try to run the Performance Troubleshooter

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type “msdt.exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
• Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.

Option 6 – Try using the Windows Performance Toolkit

You can also use the Windows Performance Toolkit in finding the root cause of the problem. Just refer to the following steps to use this toolkit.

• Search for “cmd” in the Cortana Search box and click on Command Prompt from the search results to open it.
• Next, type in the command given below or copy and paste it and then hit Enter:

xperf -on latency -stackwalk profile -buffersize 1024 -MaxFile 256 -FileMode Circular && timeout -1 && xperf -d cpuusage.etl

• After executing the command, wait for at least 60 seconds and then check the logs of the Windows Performance toolkit which is stored in a file named cpuusage.etl in the folder located at C:/Windows/System32. From there, you should see a list of all the causes of the System Resources being hogged.

If you are visiting a single folder many times during the day it might be beneficial to place its shortcut on the desktop for easy access. But did you know that you can also set a keyboard shortcut for that same folder shortcut making it available simply by clicking desired key combination? In order to make a keyboard shortcut for the desired folder know that it is available only when you have a shortcut of the desired folder, it cannot be done on the folder itself, only on its shortcut. Now folder shortcut does not need to reside on desktop, you can place it anywhere you like, but it must be a shortcut. So the first step is of course to make a shortcut of the folder that you wish to have access via keyboard key combination and place it where you wish. Once you have done this step, right-click on it and choose properties. Inside properties at the top click on the Shortcut tab and then inside Shortcut Key, press the key combination that you wish to associate with this folder. Confirm with OK and start using fast folder access with your desired key combination.

What is Bandoo?

Bandoo application, specifically product version 5.0.2.4762, is a bundled program. What does this mean? Simply, Bandoo, upon installation, installs additional programs, extensions, and add-ons to a computer and computer’s browser, without the knowledge of the user. This version of Bandoo concentrates on providing features for entertainment and also functionality/tools for backing up your computer files. Once executed, the file installs the iLivid Download Manager Software. Additional tools installed within the bundle include a Movie Toolbar and the thriving search engine ‘Ask.com.’ Technical details about Bandoo include: 

Digital Signature/Publisher:  Bandoo Media, Inc. Product Version: 5.0.2.4762 Entry Point:  0x000038AF

Assessment of Bandoo Potentially Unwanted Program

Interestingly, before the installation of Bandoo product version 5.0.2.4762 was complete, Spyhunter detected that the software was a PUP. After the installation was complete, product version 5.0.2.4762 of Bandoo added add-ons and extensions to both Internet Explorer and Chrome Browsers (these were the only 2 browsers used within the assessment). These appeared in the form of a Movie toolbar, providing quick access to movie trailers, reviews, ratings, and other video functionality, and ‘Ask’ (Ask.com) search engine.

Areas of Infiltration by Bandoo

Bandoo product version 5.0.2.4762 infiltrated several areas of the computer system. After installation, folders were neatly placed as files within all programs. Within “All Programs” there were 3 newly added programs. These included:

• iLivid
• Movies Search App for Chrome
• Movies Search App for Internet Explorer

The iLiVid application seems to be the main offer while the others, namely Movies App for Internet Explorer by Ask was featured as promotions or advertisements. Additionally, just below the 'END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT AND PRIVACY POLICY' a request was made that the user set Ask.com as both their homepage, new tab, and default search engine. This is just another well-concocted plan to get Internet users onto the 'Ask.com' search engine. Along with the 3 programs installed as a bundle,  a new folder was found within the computer's local drive. This program was termed OLBPre.

What is OLBPre?

OLBPre.exe is reputed as dangerous adware that weakens the security settings of a computer system. It's also covertly used for dropping files on a targeted computer, often without the user's consent or knowledge.

Manual Steps for Removal of Movie Search Apps

I found this removal pretty simple. Depending on your Operating System, there will be slight discrepancies in the manual removal steps. Using the Windows 8 (8.1) OS on your computer:

• Step 1: from your desktop, right-click on the ‘Start Button’.  A menu box will then appear.
• Step 2: from the menu box, click ‘Search’.
• Step 3: enter “Programs and Features” within the Input Box.
• Step 4: locate the installed apps. You should be able to see “Movies Search App for Chrome” & “Movies Search App for Internet Explorer”.
• Step 5: right-click on the names of the Apps (the ones you want to remove) when you’ve located them.
• Note: you will have to remove the apps one after the other.
• Step 6: after right-clicking the app, click the uninstall option (probably the only option available anyway).
• Note: If a box appears asking If you wish to ‘block’ or ‘allow’, select the allow option. That’s just the Publisher’s way to annoy you out of uninstalling the app.
• Step 7: follow instructions until the app is fully removed.
• Step 8: Repeat steps for the other app.

Since Bandoo also changed your search engine, you’ll have to reset that manually for Internet Explorer and Chrome. Follow the steps below:

• Step 1: Open your Internet Explorer browser.
• Step 2: Click the tool option located in the top right-hand corner of the page.
• Step 3: Click the “Internet Options” option.
• Step 4: Under the “General” tab, you’ll be able to see approximately 3 buttons. Click the button labeled ‘Use Default”.
• Step 5: At the bottom right-hand corner of the pop-up menu, select the “Apply” button and “OK”. That should do the trick.

Removal for Chrome Extension

This removal is simple.

• Step 1: Open your Chrome browser.
• Step 2: A pop-up box will be visible.
• Step 3: Click the “Remove from Chrome” option.

After removing the extensions/add-ons, perform another scan with Spyhunter. You’ll pick up a few threats. The second scan should clear up everything. To completely remove Bandoo from your computer, click here to download and install Spyhunter.