Fix oobesettings error inside Windows 11

SafeSearch is an ad-supported, cross web browser plugin for Internet Explorer and Firefox/Chrome. The browser extension will modify the default or custom settings of the browser including the home page, search settings, and in some cases will modify Internet Explorer’s load time threshold, place a lock file within Firefox to prevent changing settings as well as disable the browser’s Content Security Policy in order to allow for cross-site scripting of the plugin. For these reasons, it has been classified as a browser hijacker.

From the publisher: SafeSearch created by AVSoftware is the unique search engine that filters malicious sites or sites with bad reputations. Every website is weighted on several critical factors – vendor reliability, child safety, privacy issues, user opinions, and ratings.

SafeSearch has been found to be bundled with 3rd party software and malware and therefore is not recommended to keep on your computer.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is amongst the internet’s constant problems that target browsers. It’s a kind of malware program that directs web browser requests to some other malicious sites. They’re created to disrupt browser functions for several purposes. Typically, the idea is to force users to visit certain websites that are trying to improve their visitor traffic and produce higher ad revenue. Even though it might seem naive, all browser hijackers are damaging and therefore always regarded as security risks. Furthermore, hijackers can make the entire infected system vulnerable – other dangerous malware and viruses will take hold of these opportunities to intrude into your PC effortlessly. Browser hijacking symptoms There are several signs of web browser hijacking: home-page is changed; you see new unwanted bookmarks or favorites added, usually directed to advertisement-filled or pornography websites; the main web browser settings are altered and undesirable or insecure sites are added to the trusted websites list; you notice many toolbars on your internet browser; unstoppable flurries of pop-up advertisements show up on your PC screen; web pages load very slowly and at times incomplete; you cannot visit specific sites like homepages of security software.

So how does a PC get infected with a browser hijacker?

Browser hijackers infect computers in numerous ways, including via a drive-by download, a file-share, or an infected e-mail. They could be included with toolbars, add-ons, BHO, plugins, or browser extensions. Also, some shareware and freeware can put the hijacker within your computer through “bundling”. An example of some notorious browser hijacker includes Conduit, Anyprotect, Babylon, SweetPage, DefaultTab, Delta Search, and RocketTab, but the names are continually changing.

Browser Hijacker Malware – Removal

Certain hijackers could be removed simply by uninstalling the related freeware or add-ons through the Add or Remove Programs in the Microsoft Windows control panel. However, the majority of hijacking codes are certainly not simple to remove manually, as they go much deeper into the operating system. Moreover, manual removal expects you to perform several time-consuming and intricate procedures that are tough to conduct for novice computer users.

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

Malware can cause all kinds of damage once they invade your PC, from stealing your personal information to erasing data files on your PC. Certain malware variants alter internet browser settings by adding a proxy server or modify the computer’s DNS settings. In these instances, you will be unable to visit certain or all of the websites, and thus not able to download or install the necessary security software to eliminate the malware. If you are reading this, you may have got infected by malware that stops you from downloading a computer security program like Safebytes Anti-Malware. Even though this type of issue will be tougher to get around, there are a few actions you can take.

Install antivirus in Safe Mode with Networking

Safe Mode is actually a unique, basic version of Windows where only minimal services are loaded to counteract malware and other troublesome applications from loading. In case the malware is set to load automatically when PC boots, switching into this particular mode may well prevent it from doing so. In order to get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press F8 while the system is booting up or run MSCONFIG and locate the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. Once you reboot into Safe Mode with Networking, you can download, install, as well as update anti-malware software from there. At this point, you could run the antivirus scan to remove computer viruses and malware without hindrance from another application.

Switch over to an alternate browser

Malicious program code might exploit vulnerabilities in a particular browser and block access to all anti-malware software websites. If you suspect that your Internet Explorer has been hijacked by a computer virus or otherwise compromised by hackers, the most effective approach is to switch over to an alternate web browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari to download your favorite security program – Safebytes Anti-Malware.

Install security software on a flash drive

To successfully eliminate the malware, you might want to approach the issue of installing an antivirus software program on the affected PC from a different perspective. Do these simple measures to clean up your infected computer using a portable antivirus. 1) Use another virus-free PC to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Mount the pen-drive onto the same system. 3) Run the setup program by double-clicking the executable file of the downloaded application, which has a .exe file extension. 4) Select the USB drive as the location when the wizard asks you exactly where you would like to install the application. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation. 5) Transfer the flash drive from the uninfected PC to the infected computer. 6) Double-click the antivirus software EXE file on the thumb drive. 7) Click on the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.

Ensure the Safety of Your Computer by Installing SafeBytes Anti-Malware

If you’re looking to install an anti-malware application for your computer, there are numerous tools in the market to consider but you just cannot trust blindly anyone, irrespective of whether it is a free or paid program. Some of them are good but there are several scamware applications that pretend as authentic anti-malware software waiting to wreak havoc on the computer. When searching for an anti-malware program, choose one that provides solid, efficient, and full protection against all known computer viruses and malware. When considering the dependable software programs, Safebytes AntiMalware is certainly the strongly recommended one. SafeBytes can be described as a powerful, real-time anti-spyware application that is made to assist regular computer users in safeguarding their PC from malicious threats. This tool can easily identify, remove, and protect your computer from the latest malware intrusions such as spyware, adware, trojan horses, ransomware, parasites, worms, PUPs, along with other potentially harmful software applications. SafeBytes anti-malware comes with a myriad of enhanced features that sets it aside from all others. Here are a few popular features present in this software: Anti-Malware Protection: By using a critically acclaimed malware engine, SafeBytes gives multi-layered protection which is designed to catch and eliminate threats that are hidden deep inside your computer system. Real-time Active Protection: Malware programs trying to get into the computer are identified and stopped as and when detected by the SafeBytes active protection shields. They’re highly efficient in screening and getting rid of various threats because they are continuously revised with the latest updates and safety measures. Safe Web Browsing: SafeBytes provides an instant safety rating on the web pages you are about to visit, automatically blocking risky sites and ensure that you’re certain of your safety while browsing the net. Low CPU and Memory Usage: This software is lightweight and will work quietly in the background, and will not have an effect on your computer efficiency. 24/7 Customer Service: SafeBytes provides 24/7 technical support, automatic maintenance, and updates for the best user experience.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

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

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

If you are testing your headphone or your speaker but all of a sudden encountered an error that says, “Failed to play test tone” in your Windows 10 computer, worry not for this post will walk you through how you can fix this problem. The test tone is used to check the right-left balance of the headphones and speakers in your computer, however, if you are not able to use it, there are several options you can check out. You can try to run the Playing Audio troubleshooter or restart the services that are related to Windows Audio. Aside from these, you could also disable Audio Enhancements or you could also change the default test tone rate and bit depth.

Option 1 – Try to run the Playing Audio Troubleshooter

Since the Windows 10 operating system has the Playing Audio Troubleshooter, you can use this troubleshooter to try and fix the problem with the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error. You can access this tool in the Control Panel or in the Taskbar Search and even on the Troubleshooters page of Windows 10. Run this troubleshooter and see if it can fix the issue or not.

Option 2 – Try to restart the Windows Audio-related services

The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to restart the services related to Windows Audio. Although the audio services start automatically on every system boot, there are times when they might fail to start. Thus, you can start these services manually by following these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
• Then look for the services named “Windows Audio” and “Windows Audio Endpoint Builder”.
• Double click on each one of these services and check if their Service Status is set to Running or not and also check if the Startup Type is set to Automatic.
• If none of the services are running, just click on the Start button and select the Automatic option from the drop-down menu.
• Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then check if the error is fixed.

Option 3 – Try to update the Audio driver

You might also want to consider updating or the Audio driver as it could help in fixing the error.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type in devmgmt.msc and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• Expand the section for the outdated device drivers.
• And then select the outdated driver(s) and right-click on it/them.
• From the drop-down menu, select the Update Driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of the driver.
• Then also click on the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Restart your PC after the installation.

Note: If updating or reinstalling the Audio driver didn’t work, you can go to the manufacturer’s website and look for the support section where you can download the drivers for your computer. You just need to take note of your PC’s correct model and model number so you can find the appropriate driver.

Option 4 – Try changing the default test tone rate and bit depth

Windows selects a default test tone rate and bit depth depending on your headphone or speaker. This allows you to look for the best sound quality from your audio output device. So if your headphone or speaker has some problems with the default settings, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting the “Failed to play test tone” error. To fix this, you can try to change the default test tone rate and bit depth by following the steps below.

• First, you need to open the Windows Settings panel and then go to System > Sound.
• Next, look for the Device properties option located on your right-hand side and click on it.
• After that, select the Additional device properties option and go to the Advanced tab.
• From there, select a different test tone rate and bit depth and then click on the Test button.
• Once done, check if it was able to fix the problem or not.

Option 5 – Try disabling the Sound or Audio enhancements

To make your operating system’s specific hardware sound nothing but perfect, both Microsoft and third-party vendors have shipped audio enhancement packages which are usually referred to as “Audio Enhancements” in Windows 10. However, there are instances when instead of improving the sound or audio quality of your computer, it can cause problems so to fix the problem you need to turn off these audio enhancements. How? Simply follow the steps below.

• Type in “Sound” in the taskbar search and then from the list of results, select “Sound Control Panel”.
• After clicking Sound, the Sound properties box will pop up. From there, go to the Playback tab and right-click on the default device i.e. Speakers or Headphones then select Properties.
• After that, the Speakers properties box will appear. From there, go to the Enhancements tab and select the checkbox for the “Disable all enhancements” option.

Why combining hard drives with storage spaces? Ok, I will admit it, I am a modern digital hamster when it comes to digital goods. I like to collect stuff and more than anything else I like to have all of that at the tip of my fingers. And how digital goods grow in size themselves (movies on Blu-ray are like 50GB each) and the collection grows in size single hard drive is starting to be completely obsolete when it comes to storage. Sometimes we will need large storage for these kinds of personal collections, sometimes we will need it for work reasons. Whatever your reason might be Windows 10 is offering us a solution via Storage spaces. Storage spaces is an integral part of Windows and it is meant as a tool to provide you with a RAID environment without a RAID controller. Of course, combining multiple hard drives via storage paces instead of RAID will not be so fast or stable but for home use of storing a large quantity of data is perfectly enough. With Storage Spaces you will also have an option to reduce some space for increased security of data loss if by any chance one of your HDD fails.

How to Create a Storage Space

To create storage space in Windows, press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog. In the run box type in Control Panel and press ENTER In Control Panel find Storage Spaces and left-click on it. Once storage spaces open, left-click on Create a new pool and storage space Once you click on create new, you will be greeted with a list of hard drives you can use for this operation. Please note that all hard drives you choose will be completely erased and formatted and then assign a single drive letter. Click on Create pool. You will find yourself in new storage options where you can assign a drive letter, give storage space a name, etc.

Storage spaces types

One thing I would like to focus on here is resiliency type, when you expand the resiliency type drop-down menu you will see 4 options inside. Simple, Two-way mirror, Three-way mirrors, and Parity. Simple: If you choose Simple as an option, you will have maximum hard drive space but no resiliency at all, meaning that if by any chance any of your hard drives malfunction, you are losing your data from that drive completely. Two-way mirror: This option will save your data if one of your drives fails but you need at least 2 drives and storage space will be limited since some of it will be a safe backup option for the case of a drive failure. However if one of your drives fails, you can replace it in a second and keep on working as nothing happened. Three-way mirror: This option similar to the previous one will offer you safe data-keeping from a hard drive failure. this option will save your data even if 2 hard drives malfunction but it will require having 5 of them connected in order to be able to choose this option. Parity: Maybe the most popular option among people who want to have 2 or 3 drives merged but do not want to lose too much space of the two-way mirror option. It offers some protection and it does not take so much space as two-way does, let us say it is a kind of win-win situation.

Conclusion

I personally go for simple and have an important backup on optical drives but only for reason I could use more space, know that this way is requiring from me to always have a backup in optical media and that I will need to restore all of it back if even one HDD fails which could take time. But if this way is ok with you, go for it, you will have more space to use.

If you have recently installed a new internal or external hard drive or SSD and you’ve noticed that its status on the left side of the Disk Management tool states “Unknown Not Initialized”, this indicates that Windows can’t initialize the disk and that you won’t be able to use this new SSD or hard drive. You can encounter this kind of issue randomly and not just with a new hard drive or SSD but also with existing drives. There are times when you won’t be able to find your drive or partition in the File Explorer. In such a case, you have to check the Disk Management if your drive or partition is there physically. You also have to check if you can see it as Not Initialized. If it is, then this means that the disk or partition does not have a valid signature that is if it’s not registered with the system properly. Note that a disk is registered when you format it at least once so if the disk was available before, then it could be somehow corrupted. To resolve the problem, you can try to initialize the disk manually or bring it online and add a drive letter. You can also try checking the Device Manager for issues or check the cable physically.

Option 1 – Try to manually initialize the disk

Since initializing the disk is the most common way to resolve the “Unknown Not Initialized” error, this is what you have to try first.

• To initialize the disk manually, you have to open the Disk Management from the WinX menu by tapping Win + X keys and selecting Disk Management.
• From there, you can find the non-initialized disk. Right-click on it and select the “Initialize Disk” option.
• Next, select the partition style. It is recommended that you use the MBR option instead of the GPT or GUID Partition Table.
• Now click the OK button. Your hard drive or SSD should now initialize without any problem.

Option 2 – Set the disk Online and add the Drive letter

• If the disk appears to be offline under Disk Management, right-click on it and select the Online option.
• On the other hand, if the disk is already set Online but does not have a drive letter, right-click on it and select the Change drive letter and path option.
• Select a letter that is not allocated yet.
• Once you’re done, you have the option to format the disk in either NTFS or FAT32 but if you are using a 64-bit computer, make sure that you opt for NTFS.

Option 3 – Try to check any issues in the Device Manager

It is also possible that the hard drive is not working properly due to some driver issues. Thus, it’s better if you check the Device Manager and see if that drive is listed with a yellow exclamation mark next to it. And if that’s the case, you have to right-click on that drive and select the Uninstall drive option. After that, click on Action and then run the Scan for hardware changes. It should fix the problem.

Option 4 – Try to physically check the cable

You might also want to check the physical status of the wires and see if they are connected properly or not. Specifically, you have to check two cables, such as:

• The first one is the power cable that’s connected to your SMPS.
• Next is the one that’s connected to your motherboard.

If any of the two cables are not working or missing, then it’s no wonder why your drive has an “Unknown Not Initialized” status. Thus, you need to have them replaced to fix the problem.

One of the most important components of a computer in the network. The network, with the help of network devices, makes it possible for all kinds of devices to exchange information. One of the files associated with the network driver is the netio.sys file. It is a system file used by third-party programs to interact with the devices on the network. If you encounter a Blue Screen of Death error that’s related to the netio.sys file then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing it. Here are some of the Blue Screen errors related to the netio.sys file:

• KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• PAGE FAULT IN A NONPAGED AREA
• IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL
• SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
• DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
• SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED

To fix the netio.sys Blue Screen errors on your Windows 10 computer, you can check out each one of the following suggestions.

Option 1 – Try to use the System File Checker

One of the built-in tools in Windows that you can use to fix Blue Screen errors is the System File Checker. This built-in command utility can help you restore corrupted or missing files as well as replace bad and corrupted system files. Chances are, the netio.sys file might be corrupted so to fix it, use System File Checker.

• First, right-click on the Start button and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin) option.
• Next, type in the sfc /scannow command and hit Enter to execute it.

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

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

• Finally, restart your computer.

Option 2 – Try checking the Memory for any errors

The first thing you can do to check the memory for errors is to run the CHKDSK utility. The CHKDSK utility repairs hard drive errors that might be causing the problem.

• You need to open “This PC” first.
• And then right-click on your operating system partition for Windows.
• Next, click on Properties and navigate to the Tools tab.
• After that, click on the Check button under the Error Checking section.
• A new mini window will appear and from there, click on Scan drive.
• Now let it scan your disk drive partition to check for errors and then restart your computer.

After running the CHKDSK utility, it’s now time to fix issues with your RAM by running the Memory Diagnostic tool. This tool in windows can help resolve the Blue Screen errors related to the netio.sys file by checking and automatically fixing any memory-based issues. To run it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type mdsched.exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
• After that, it will give two options such as:
  • Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
  • Check for problems the next time I start my computer
• Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.

Note: After you select your preferred option, your computer will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them and if there’s no issue found, then it’s most likely not a memory-based issue so you should try the other options given below.

Option 3 – Try to update or rollback or disable Network drivers

You might also want to update, roll back or disable your Network drivers to resolve the netio.sys Blue Screen errors.

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “mdsched.msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand it.
• Then right-click on each one of the Network drivers and depending on your preference, you can either select “Update driver”, “Disable device” or “Uninstall device”.
• After that, restart your PC and see if it helped in fixing the netio.sys Blue Screen error.

Option 4 – Perform System Restore

Performing System Restore can also help fix BSOD errors, including the ones related to the netio.sys file. To run System Restore, follow the steps below.

• First, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 5 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

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

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

The Recycle Bin is undeniably an important place to make files ready for deletion. To put it simply, it assumes some importance but there are times when it displays an unpredictable behavior. For instance, it just suddenly goes missing and even Cortana is unable to find it. A lot of users have experienced the missing Recycle Bin issue in their Windows 10 computers. If you are one of these users, you might have wondered where the Recycle Bin icon has gone and how you can get it back. Worry not, as this post will provide you a couple of options you can try to bring back Recycle Bin in your Windows 10 computer. Follow the given options below to get started.

Option 1 – Try to restore Recycle Bin

It could be that you have disabled the Recycle Bin by accident which is why Windows was not able to show it on your desktop. To restore Recycle Bin, follow these steps:

• First, click on the Start button and select Settings.
• Next, select the Personalization setting and then select Themes from the left pane.
• After that, click on the “Desktop icon settings” link under the “Related Settings” heading. This will display a list of icons in the Desktop Icons window.
• From there, make sure that you check the checkbox for “Recycle Bin” to make it appear on your Desktop screen once again.

Option 2 – Try to recreate the Recycle Bin

If the first option didn’t work, then it could be that Recycle Bin might have been deleted which is why you fail to restore it. And to resolve this problem, you need to recreate Recycle Bin. Refer to the following steps to do so:

• You need to launch the Windows File Explorer first and go to the View tab.
• From this tab, select Options and click on the drop-down arrow and then select the “Change folder and search option”.
• Afterward, switch to the View tab when the Folder Options window appears on your screen and select the “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” option.
• And then unmark the checkbox next to the “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” option and click on both the Apply and OK buttons, respectively.
• Next, go back to the File Explorer and click on “This PC” located on the left bar and go to the C: drive.
• From there, you will find a file named “$Recycle.Bin” located at the top.
• Open this folder to access its contents and you should see the Recycle Bin icon located at the top.
• After that, right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and click on the “Send To” option and then click on “Desktop (create shortcut)”.
• It will then confirm and recreate the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop screen.

Note: Even though this icon is quite similar to the original one, it actually differs from it. The difference is that you won’t see if fill up when you delete files and you can’t simply empty it by right-clicking on the shortcut. On the other hand, you can still drag items into it just like with the original one. So when you want to empty the content of the newly restored Recycle Bin, you just have to double-click on the shortcut and right-click on the recycle bin in the window that appears, and select the “Empty Recycle Bin” option. In addition, now that you’ve set up the Recycle Bin shortcut, you have to re-activate the “Hide protected operating system files” to keep the important files and folders in your computer hidden.

Option 3 – Try to repair the Recycle Bin

If both the first two options failed to restore the missing Recycle Bin, then you can try repairing it instead. There are times when the Recycle Bin is removed from the Desktop screen due to some corrupted Windows system files. To fix these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM tool. This tool is known to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also system issues like the missing Recycle Bin. To repair these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM commands:

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

• Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the problem is now fixed.

Option 4 – Make sure that you are not in Tablet Mode

Since Windows 10 is designed to work on both desktop and mobile devices, it could be that your computer has slipped into Tablet Mode which explains why you’re not seeing the Recycle Bin. To check if your computer is really in Tablet Mode, follow these steps:

• Go to the Start menu and select Settings.
• Next, select the System setting and from the left pane select the Tablet Mode.
• From there, make sure that the buttons next to the options given below are set to the off position:
  • Hide app icons on the taskbar in tablet mode
  • Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode

Socket Error 10060 - What is it?

Socket Error 10060 is basically a connection time-out error. This error occurs when the remote FTP server does not respond to CuteFTP. This time-out error occurs after an FTP session is established but even the server doesn’t respond. The error message is displayed in the following format:

‘Connection timed out. A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host failed to respond.’

Solution

Error Causes

Socket Error 10060 may occur due to multiple reasons including:

• Blocked port
• Data connection incorrect settings
• When the web proxy connection setting does not allow enough time to receive a response from the destination website and therefore the connection is timed-out.
• Registry issues
• Viral infection

Further Information and Manual Repair

Here are some of the best and quick DIY methods to resolve Socket Error 10060 on your PC.

Method 1: Troubleshoot the Web Proxy Connection

This method is workable and effective if Socket Error 10060 occurs only when the web proxy service is used. To execute it, here’s what you need to do: install the Winsock Proxy Client on your PC. Disable the web proxy settings under the LAN settings on the Connections tab of the internet options. Once you disable the settings, then try to go to the website that you giving you the error. If the site is accessible, the error is resolved.

Method 2: Increase Web Proxy Time out Settings

If disabling the web proxy settings doesn’t work, then try increasing time-out settings. To do so, you will also have to modify the registry. Remember serious problems may occur if you modify the registry incorrectly.

• Here’s what you need to do, click start, run and then type Regedit in the dialogue box.
• Navigate to the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesW3ProxyParameters.
• On the right side of the Registry Editor, right-click Request TimeoutSecs and then click Modify.
• Click decimal, they type the number of seconds that you want the proxy service to wait until the session times out.
• To confirm changes, click OK.
• Now restart WWW publishing service by going to start, run and type cmd. Click OK to continue.
• Type net stop iisadmin/y and then press enter. After that type net start iisadmin /y and then press enter. Test the new settings by going to the website that displayed the Socket Error 10060 message.

Method 3: Switch from Passive Mode to Active Port Mode

This method is effective if the error occurs due to incorrect data connection settings. CuteFTP uses passive mode by default so to ensure the error is resolved, you may have to switch from passive mode to active port mode. To make this switch, open the site manager and then click once on the name of the problem website. Now on the Type tab change the data connection type to use the port.

Method 4: Configure Firewall Settings

Sometimes the error may also occur due to Firewall.  To resolve, configure Firewall settings to allow FTP protocol.

Method 5: Download Restoro

Whether the error occurs due to viral infection or registry issues, it is advisable to download Restoro. This is an advanced and multi-functional PC fixer embedded with multiple utilities like antivirus and a registry cleaner. The registry cleaning utility removes junk files, cookies, and invalid entries damaging the registry. It cleans, repairs, and restores the registry while the antivirus removes all types of viruses like spyware and Trojans in seconds thereby resolving socket error code 10060. It is safe, user-friendly, and compatible with all Windows versions. Click here to download Restoro today.

As you know, just like other web browsers, Google Chrome offers Incognito Mode or private browsing which you can use to make sure that your browsing activities are not being tracked by any websites you visit and it also keeps targeted ads at bay. On the other hand, signing in to a website, even when in Incognito Mode is a different thing since that website can track your browsing activities. Thus, Incognito Mode is still useful especially if you want to browse the web safely and without getting tracked except when you log in to some site. However, there have been reports recently that Incognito Mode is missing in Chrome and users are clueless as to how or why it happened. If you are one of them, worry not for this post will walk you through what you can do if there’s no Incognito Mode in Chrome on your Windows 10 computer. This is an unusual and strange issue since the Incognito Mode in Chrome is available by default and you don’t have to do anything to enable it. It is possible that there might be corruption in the Windows Registry which caused the disappearance of Incognito Mode, worry not though for there are some tweaks you can apply to restore the missing Incognito Mode. To apply these tweaks, you need to create first a System Restore point, and then once you’re done, follow the instructions provided below carefully. Step_1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and then hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Step_2: Next, after opening the Registry Editor, navigate to this path – ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPolicies Step_3: From there, look for ChromePolicies and locate the DWORD named “IncognitoModeAvailability” and double click on it. Step_4: Edit the value of the “IncognitoModeAvailability” DWORD by changing its value from 1 to 0 so you can enable Incognito Mode in Chrome. Step_5: Once done, exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer and then check if you can now see Incognito Mode in Chrome. On the other hand, there is also another option that allows you to force open your Chrome browser in Incognito Mode. All you have to do is set the value of the “IncognitoModeAvailability” key to “2” instead of 0. This can be useful especially if you always browse the web in this mode. But you need to remember that you won’t be able to go back to the normal mode once you do this. Here are what the values of the IncognitoModeAvailability DWORD actually mean:

• 0 – Incognito mode is enabled by default
• 1 – Incognito mode is disabled
• 2 – Chrome is forced to always open in Incognito mode

Skinning of applications is not new to PC users, but did you knew you could skin Steam? With skin, you can customize the UI and style of the client to what you want making it more personal and to your liking. First thing is to find the skin that you would like to install. There are a lot of sites where you could find custom made Steam skins but we would recommend steamskins.org The site itself is organized in tabs with different sections, once you click on the tab you will get a list of skins available for chosen section. If you click on the skin you will be taken to skin page detail where you can find what skin is aiming for, its legibility, a record of how the skin has been altered over time, or some mix of these aspects. Note that some skins might have issues like some buttons might be missing from big picture mode but so far none of the skins has any kind of client breaking feature, only functionality one.

Downloading skin

Once you have chosen desired skin and while on the skin details page, scroll to the middle of the page just above the Related Skins sections with two options: Direct Download and External Download. Now usually I would recommend Direct download but in this case, I would advise going with External Download for the simple reason that the External link will send you to the developer's website where there is a higher chance to get the latest updated skin.

Installing it in Steam

Once the skin is downloaded you will first need to create a skin folder inside your Steam installation location. Navigate to your Steam installation folder (default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam) and create a new folder inside it. Give new folder name Skins and confirm. Extract the skin zip file in the newly made folder. Once the file is extracted you can delete the ZIP file if you wish. Go to your Steam client and go to Steam>Settings. In settings select Interface on the left bar and on the right part then click the Select the skin you wish Steam to use the drop-down menu and select the skin that you wish to use. Confirm and restart your Steam client

Reverting to old skin

If you found skin unappealing or, unfortunately, has some functions missing you can always choose another skin or revert back to default Steam skin. Default Steam skin is named in the drop-down menu as < default skin >.

In some cases, a couple of Windows 10 laptops, especially the newer ones that run the NVIDIA RTX series GPUs have been experiencing some problems, particularly with their headphone jacks which seem to be malfunctioning even though the internal speakers works just fine. And despite having all the drivers updated to their latest versions, the problem still occurs. According to security experts, this kind of problem occurs on laptop computers that are manufactured by MSI and since there is still no workaround or reliable fix released by the company, in this post you will be guided on how you can resolve the problem with the headphone jack. So if you are using a laptop made by MSI and are experiencing the same issue, then you’ve come to the right place. There are several potential fixes you can check out to resolve the problem, you can try to force reboot your computer or clean your headphone jack and then plug it back in properly. In addition, you could also try to update your Audio drivers or set your headphone as default. For more information, follow each one of the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to force reboot your computer

The first thing you can do is to force reboot your computer as this simple fix could help in fixing the problem. This option is quite simple, just make sure that before you do it, you have to save all your work.

• First, turn on your computer and press and hold the power button for at least 30 seconds. You might notice the screen flashing or making any changes, just ignore it.
• After that, plug out and plug in your computer and automatically turn it on.
• Once done, check if the headphone jack is now working fine.

Option 2 – Try to clean the headphone jack and plug it properly

The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to clean your headphone jack and plug it back in properly. Make sure that you use a cotton swab in cleaning the headphone jack as there are instances where some dust might have settled in the port which results in issues like your headphone jack no working.

Option 3 – Try to update, rollback or reinstall the Audio driver

If the glitch in your audio has something to do with software, chances are it might be related to the audio driver – it could be that the newest version of your Windows 10 does not work well with the old version of the driver. This is why you have to update your audio driver to the newest available version.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type in MSC and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• Expand the section for the outdated device drivers.
• And then select the outdated driver(s) and right-click on it/them.
• From the drop-down menu, select the Update Driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of the driver.
• Then also click on the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Restart your PC after the installation.

Note: If updating or reinstalling the Audio driver didn’t work, you can go to the website of MSI and look for the support section where you can download the drivers for your computer. You just need to take note of your PC’s correct model and model number so you can find the appropriate driver.

Option 4 – Try to set the headphone as the default device manually

There are times when you plug a headphone, it does not toggle the default audio device. Thus, to fix this issue, you have to set the default audio device to the headphones manually. To do that, follow these steps:

• First, right-click on the volume icon located on the system tray.
• Next, select the Open sound settings option to open the Sound section in the Windows 10 Settings app.
• From there, select the Control Panel for Sound on the rightmost column. This will open a new mini window.
• After that, select your headphone under the Playback tab and click on the Set default button.
• Once done, click on Apply and then OK buttons to save the changes made.

Option 5 – Try to run the Playing Audio Troubleshooter

Since the Windows 10 operating system has the Playing Audio Troubleshooter, you can use this troubleshooter to try and fix the problem with the headphones. You can access this tool in the Control Panel or in the Taskbar Search and even on the Troubleshooters page of Windows 10.