Fixing TV screen resolution on PC

Error Code 0x80240017 – What is it?

Error code 0x80240017 is associated with installing or updating a Windows Store app. This error is more common in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. It appears due to missing certain system files and also corrupt registry.

Common symptoms

• When you try to install a Windows Store app on a PC running Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, or Windows Server 2012 R2, the installation fails and you receive an error message: 0x80240017
• Certain apps may become unresponsive.
• You may not be able to download apps or Windows update
• You may have difficulty updating or installing and uninstalling other built-in programs inside Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
• When you have multiple applications running, you may experience crashes and freezes.

Solution

Error Causes

The error code 0x80240017 in Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 usually appears due to the fact that your system has changed after you installed a third-party application. It might also appear if registry entry has changed after a reboot of the operating system and you do not have the required permissions. Other causes may be due to:

• Corrupted, broken, or missing system files.
• Malware/spyware infection or virus attack
• Hardware/RAM decline
• Fragmented file
• Unnecessary or redundant program installations

Further Information and Manual Repair

Repairing Error Code 0x80240017 in Windows 8/Windows 8.1

Method 1:

Resetting Windows Store app:

1. Press and hold the Windows key and press R. This will open up the Run command
2. Now, type exe and hit Enter
3. Just wait for it to finish and it will re-launch Windows Store. Now, try and install the app you were trying to install which was previously showing an error.

This basic solution will delete the cache and reset Windows Store.

Method 2:

Using Windows troubleshooter:

1. Click on Search on the Charm bar and type Troubleshooting. Click on the very first option.
2. A new window will open. Click View all from the left pane.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and click on Windows update.
4. Troubleshooter window for Windows update will pop up. Click on NEXT. It may ask you for administrative permission.
5. The troubleshooter will automatically detect problems and fix them.
6. Now, close this window and try download/install the app which was previously showing an error.

Method 3:

Disable Proxy Settings: Disable proxy server on Internet Explorer

1. Press the Windows + R Run window will appear.
2. Type cpl and hit Enter
3. Click the Connections tab and click LAN settings
4. Under proxy server uncheck “Use a proxy server for your LAN”
5. Click OK

Now try to install apps from Windows Store.

Method 4:

Boot in Safe Mode:

1. Open Run command as previously described
2. Type MSConfig
3. Click on the Boot tab
4. Tick Safe boot in Boot option
5. Select Network
6. Click Apply and OK
7. Reboot your system

Your system will boot in Safe mode with Networking. You may now try and open Windows Store and should not see any errors.

Method 5:

Note: It is recommended that you back up your files and folders before attempting this step:

1. Move the mouse cursor over to the upper right side of the screen.
2. A menu will pop up on the left. Click on the “Settings” feature on the menu.
3. On the Settings window, click on the “Change PC settings.”
4. Now, left-click on the “Update and recovery” feature.
5. For the next step, left-click on the “Recovery” feature.
6. There is an option here saying “Refresh your PC without affecting your files.” There, left-click on the “Get started” button.
7. Now, follow the instructions on the screen to finish the Refresh process.
8. After the Refresh process has finished restart your Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 device.
9. Check again to see if the error 0x80240017 has been fixed.

If you do not possess the technical expertise required to accomplish this yourself or do not feel comfortable doing so, download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.

For PC users that are blind or have low vision, the Narrator accessibility feature in Windows 10, lets you use your PC without a display or mouse to complete common tasks – it reads and interacts with things on the screen, like text and buttons. The narrator can be used to read and write an email, browse the internet, and work with documents. In Windows 10, there are a lot of options for Narrator that you can customize. You can change its keyboard shortcuts, personalize Narrator’s voice, enable Caps Lock warnings, and more. You can choose the voice for the Narrator, adjust the speaking rate, pitch, and volume. To change the default audio output device used to play the voice of the Narrator in Windows 10:

• Press the ⊞ WINDOWS + I
• From the Settings menu, click Ease of Access.
• Click Narrator on the left pane.
• In the Narrator window, on the right pane, toggle the button to On to enable Narrator if required.
• Scroll down to the Personalize Narrator’s voice section.
• For the Select where you hear Narrator’s voice option, click the drop-down and select the audio output device you want from the list. Please know that you will not be able to choose if you do not have multiple audio output devices connected to your Windows 10 computer.
• Exit Settings when done.

If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

Code 0x800F0923 – What is it?

The Error Code 0x800F0923 is one that appears only when attempting to update from older versions of Microsoft Windows to Microsoft Windows 10. This error does not occur with every install and is believed to be the result of a driver incompatibility issue. It is unclear which specific drivers are having the compatibility issues, though it is widely believed that DuplexSecure's SPTD drivers are the ones at fault. When operating correctly, without errors, the update process should not take longer than 30 minutes. Common symptoms include:

• Error message window/pop-up during the install process, giving the Error Code 0x800F0923
• Inability to install and update from older versions of Microsoft Windows to version 10

Solution

Error Causes

There are various relevant factors associated with the error code 0x800F0923 incompatibility issue in Windows 10 installation/upgrade. These factors include but are not limited to:

• The Operating System (OS) upgrading does not support older hardware.
• Your computer’s specs did not meet the minimum requirements.
• Not enough hard disk space.
• The new software might lack software drivers for older hardware

Further Information and Manual Repair

Microsoft has recently released its Windows 10 operating system. While there are still a few kinks to be worked out, overall the reviews have been positive. As with any new Microsoft update, compatibility issues can arise. If you are unsure whether your current PC will be able to handle the new Windows 10, here is an easy way to check your system.

Method 1: Check if your computer is compatible

• Locate the “Get Windows 10” application icon in your notification tray (bottom right corner of your screen, white Windows logo).
• Right-click on this icon, then select the “check your upgrade status” option.
• Be prepared for the menu to take a few minutes to open.
• Click on the menu on the upper left-hand corner of this new dialog box. (It looks like three blue horizontal lines)
• Select “check your PC”
• After the system checks for compatibility, it will let you know whether or not your PC has the appropriate drivers, etc. (Keep in mind that this is not a foolproof method for checking compatibility status).

Method 2: Download or upgrade your drivers/software

If you have already attempted to update to Windows 10, and have received the Error Code 0x800F0923, this is the simplest way to solve the issue yourself.

1. Open the “Get Windows 10” application. 2. Open the menu in the upper left corner, looks like three blue lines. 3. Select “Check your PC”. 4. The system will tell you which drivers are incompatible. 5. Go to the Microsoft Support website to install and/or update the drivers that proved to be an issue. 6. Once the driver issue is corrected, retry the Windows 10 update.

Method 3: Create space on your computer

If your computer does not have sufficient space to accept the upgrade, you might want to clear up some space on your computer. Here’s how to do it. If you have not attempted to install Microsoft Windows 10 yet, it is a good idea to check your system's compatibility prior to installing. While it is not absolutely necessary, it will save time and frustration. Microsoft Support suggests contacting them directly if you are unable to solve your driver compatibility issues, or if the above do-it-yourself method is unsuccessful. To resolve this compatibility issue and get your upgrade going use a powerful and user-friendly tool to clean up the problem. Click here to download Restoro. Users should also be aware that those who choose to upgrade to Windows 10 have 30 days in which they may decide that they would rather use their old system. However, reverting back to the older system may not be a smooth process, and some data could be lost.

Google's Pixel smartphone is one if not the best Android smartphone on the market. It regularly gets updates and Google is really trying to keep it as a top choice for Android smartphone users. One of the new things that Google has released for its smartphone series is a new emergency dialer.

With an emergency dialer, you will be able to quickly access local contact information for police, fire, and medical services. This dialer is able to contact before mentioned services even when the phone is locked and when you are traveling.

The idea is to quickly access the default emergency number no matter in which country you are currently in, service will find the appropriate number and set it as default so if you need it there is no delay in searching for the appropriate number and dialing it.

Once the service is enabled on the device you can swipe up and tap Emergency call without unlocking your phone or you can press and hold the power button for five seconds and tap Emergency.

If you have a Pixel smartphone go to the Google support page and follow instructions on how to enable this service. It costs nothing and it could potentially even save your life.

Hello everyone and welcome to another great tutorial from errortools.com I hope everyone is feeling great and that you are prepared to boost the performance of your computer. This time we will speed up Windows startup time and overall performance by eliminating startup programs that we don't need and do not use. Microsoft itself and some application developers tend to have some applications or some services always active and set to be loaded on Windows startup. If you want to change which of these applications are starting up with your Windows and change them, follow this easy guide and you will be speeding up your Windows in no time. First thing is to open a task manager, fastest and most direct way of doing this is with a keyboard combination of CTRL + SHIFT + ESC When Task Manager opens, click on the startup tab on top. Once you click on startup you will get a list of applications that are set to be started when Windows is booted. You can now click on the application and then click on disable on the bottom button, the application status will update in task manager to disabled and it will not be booted anymore when Windows starts. In this same manner, you can enable back some applications if you changed your mind about them. Please note that some applications are using some services and must have them running or they will not work properly. The best practice is to disable applications you are positive you will not use or use rarely so you do not want them to slow down Windows.

Still sitting on the fence about upgrading to Windows 11 because you don’t know what to expect? Interestingly, the new edition somehow manages to be both a total revamp and still very similar to its predecessor in many ways. It’s really something to experience for yourself.

We do want to give you a sneak peek, though. So here’s an overview of the biggest changes Windows 11 brings to the table.

What’s different in Windows 11?

1. Visual changes

The first thing anyone will notice after switching to Windows 11 is the striking visual difference. The entire interface is smoother, cleaner and more minimalistic than on Windows 10, even resembling the macOS in some instances.
Perhaps the most obvious change in appearance is the Start menu and Taskbar location, which is now at the bottom center. It’s actually very neat, but if you’re someone who loves familiarity, don’t worry, you can move it back to the left.

Moreover, you’ll notice that the Taskbar includes a Microsoft Teams icon by default (which you can, of course, remove) and that Live Tiles are gone. The News and Interests section has also been removed - or, shall we say, replaced. As opposed to Windows 10, news, weather forecasts and other information are now displayed as widgets.

To add to the cleanliness of the UI, Microsoft also enhanced the ‘Snap Layouts’ feature to help you better organize your windows and maximize screen real estate. It’s similar to app grouping on your smartphone. In Windows 10 this feature is slightly restricted, as it requires some manual resizing and dragging. In Windows 11, you can just hover over the minimize/maximize option on a window, select a layout and throw the windows in there. 

2. New accessibility features

Microsoft has certainly paid attention to accessibility with Windows 10, but Windows 11 takes this to a whole new level.

One of the ways Windows 11 has taken things up a notch is by adding the long-awaited ‘Live Captions’ feature and advanced Narrator options.

Live Captions apply both to media played on your PC as well as your own speech when you’re using the microphone. Keep in mind that, as with almost all kinds of subtitles, you have to be prepared for a potential delay. However, it’s barely noticeable and doesn’t take away from the usefulness of this awesome new feature whatsoever.

As for the Narrator, there are three new voice packs to choose from. Microsoft has tried to put emphasis on a more natural voice than we are used to. So, now you can choose between Aria, Jenny and Guy, who will read pretty much anything off your screen out loud. Aside from this, Microsoft has also expanded the list of braille displays supported by the Narrator feature. 
For users with anxiety or trouble concentrating, a welcomed addition is the Focus app, which is no longer part of the Clock app. It’s now separate and called ‘Focus Sessions’, automatically triggering the Do Not Disturb mode when activated. It blocks all pop-ups and flashes and lets you work in peace until you’re ready to switch it off.

3. Android apps

Android users may rejoice! Windows 11 supports the use of your favorite applications now. 

Microsoft has done this by integrating the Amazon Appstore to the Windows 11 Microsoft Store. From there, you can download your favorite Android apps and use them on your PC in a smartphone-like window.

Unfortunately not too many apps are supported at this time, but Microsoft is working on making the emulation possible for many more. Also, the option is only available in specific regions at this moment - check out if you’re one of the lucky ones.

4. Improved gaming performance

Avid gamers will be happy to hear that Microsoft has put some effort into streamlining Windows 11 for their gaming needs.

To give gamers a supreme visual experience, Windows 11 offers the ‘Auto HDR’ feature. As long as your monitor is HDR-compatible, this feature will automatically adjust the colors, brightness and contrast of games without any input from you. 

Another update is DirectStorage, which we were introduced to in Windows 10 already. In Windows 11, it’s been improved to tweak loading times and overall gaming performance efficiency even better. The predisposition for it to work optimally is that your device has an NVMe SSD. 

The Xbox Game Bar also helps gamers towards a smoother experience. It allows in-game screenshots, viewing processes that are running (similar to the Task Manager), monitoring the CPU and GPU performance and frame rate, integrating the Xbox App and more. There’s also a number of widgets you can now use with the Game Bar, for example the Spotify widget.

Another cool addition is the Xbox Game Pass, which unlocks hundreds of games to play on your Xbox App, with new additions coming in every month.

5. Smart App Control

Aside from a sleek new look and better accessibility for all users, Windows 11 also comes with a security power-up. Bear in mind that this feature is only available on clean Windows 11 installs. 

Smart App Control (SAC) is an AI-powered new feature designed to protect your PC from potential threats. It blocks untrustworthy apps and adware and helps detect potentially unwanted apps, maintaining your PC’s performance and keeping your system safe.

It comes with an ‘Evaluation’ mode, which you should definitely select when running SAC for the first time. That way, the app monitors your usage and assesses whether you’re a candidate for SAC. Some users need it to be on all the time, for others it might be too distracting. Evaluation mode will turn SAC on or off based on your usage.

Don’t disable SAC again unless you’re absolutely sure you don’t need it, since reenabling it will require a fresh install. We recommend you don’t turn it off, as it is a neat feature protecting your data and files from malware at all times.

Summary

Have we piqued your interest in trying Microsoft’s latest OS? It’s a pretty exciting new iteration, but we’ll let you find out for yourself. We hope you like it!

If you recently made some changes in your Windows 10 computer using the Group Policy Editor but they were not reflected and you got errors instead, it could be that your Windows computer wasn’t able to read the Group Policy file (registry.pol). To resolve this kind of issue, you have to repair the potentially corrupted Group Policy using the options given in this post. .As you know, Group Policy is a feature in the Microsoft Windows Active Directory which allows an admin to make changes in the features on Windows PCs that are on the network. So if the modifications you just made weren’t successfully applied, then there could be something wrong with the registry.pol file on the client or it could also be that the Group Policy folder is missing. To fix this issue in the Group Policy, you need to refer to the given suggestions below and make sure that you have admin privileges as you execute them.

Option 1 – Try to delete or recreate the missing registry.pol file

The entire settings of the Group Policy are stored in the registry.pol file so if it went missing, all the changes you make will not be reflected. The good thing is that you can recreate it but if the file exists and is corrupted, you need to delete it first before you recreate it.

• First, go to the C:/Windows/System32/GroupPolicy/Machine location.
• And from there, check if the registry.pol file exists or not. If it’s there, just delete it permanently by tapping the Shift + Delete keys.
• Now it’s time to recreate the file. Just open Windows PowerShell with admin privileges by tapping Win + X + A keys.
• After opening PowerShell, type this command: gpupdate /force
• The command you entered will recreate the registry.pol file and will refresh the Group Policy. Restart your computer.

Option 2 – Try recreating the secedit.sdb file

The security settings of Group Policy are stored in the secedit.sdb file so if you made some changes to security and they weren’t reflected, you can try to delete and recreate the secedit.sdb file instead of deleting the Group Policy file. All you have to do is navigate to the C:/WINDOWS/security/Database folder and look for the secedit.sdb file and rename it or move it to another folder. After that, restart your computer. Once your computer has restarted, the secedit.sdb file will be created again.

Option 3 – Try to reset the Group Policy to default

You can also try to reset the Group Policy back to its default state. There are several ways you can do that. You can either use the gpupdate or the secedit command in the Windows PowerShell to do that. Resetting the Group Policy will resolve any issues that could be caused by its current settings.

Option 4 – Try to perform System Restore

System Restore can also help resolve the Group Policy issue. It could be that prior to the issue, you’ve made some changes in the system that might have affected the Group Policy. To undo these changes, perform System Restore.

• 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 – Use the DISM tool

You can also try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool. This tool will repair the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in your Windows 10 computer. So if there are any missing or corrupted folders and files, the DISM tool can restore and repair them. As a result, any system consistencies and corruptions will be fixed. To run this tool, follow these steps:

• 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.

MyFunCards Toolbar is a browser hijacking extension for Google Chrome made by Mindspark Interactive. This extension installs a toolbar for your browser, changes your default search engine, and lowers the general performance of your browser. This extension has access to your personal information, injects your search results with potentially dangerous ads, and possibly breaks some of the browser functions. Since this extension injects its code into too many files and has access to all your browser details, upon removing it you will lose all your browser settings, themes, and login information. MyFunCards is considered a potentially unwanted application, and as a result, is flagged for optional removal by many anti-malware programs.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is amongst the web’s constant problems that target internet browsers. It is a type of malware program that alters your web browser’s settings so that you are redirected to internet sites or pages that you had no intention of checking out. There are many reasons why you may have a browser hijack; however commercial, marketing, and advertising are the main reasons for their creation. It redirects you to the sponsored sites and injects advertisements on the browser that assists its developer to generate revenue. Even though it may seem naive, these tools were created by vicious people who always look to take advantage of you, so that they can easily earn money from your naivety and distraction. They not only mess up your browsers, but browser hijackers can also modify the computer registry to make your PC susceptible to various other types of attacks.

Key symptoms that an internet browser has been hijacked

When your web browser is hijacked, the following might happen: 1. the home page of the browser is changed all of a sudden 2. your internet browser is constantly being redirected to adult sites 3. the default search engine has been changed and the web browser security settings have been cut down without your knowledge 4. unwanted new toolbars are added to your browser 5. your browser will display endless pop-up ads 6. your internet browser has become unstable or starts running slowly 7. You cannot access certain websites, in particular anti-malware sites.

How browser hijacker finds its way onto your computer system

A browser hijacker could be installed on your PC if you visit an infected site, click an e-mail attachment, or download something from a file-sharing website. They could also be deployed via the installation of a web browser toolbar, add-on, or extension. A browser hijacker can be installed as a part of freeware, demoware, shareware, and fake programs. Common examples of browser hijackers include Conduit, CoolWebSearch, Coupon Server, OneWebSearch, RocketTab, Snap.do, Delta Search, and Searchult.com. Browser hijacking can cause severe privacy issues and even identity theft, disrupt your web browsing experience by taking control of outgoing traffic, significantly slows down your personal computer by depleting lots of resources and result in system instability as well.

Browser hijacker removal methods

Certain hijackers can be removed by just uninstalling the corresponding freeware or add-ons through the Add or Remove Programs in the Windows control panel. Having said that, the majority of hijackers are quite tenacious and require specialized applications to eradicate them. Moreover, browser hijackers can modify the Computer registry therefore it can be quite hard to repair manually, especially when you’re not a tech-savvy individual.

Malware Blocking Internet And All Antivirus Software? Do This!

All malware is inherently dangerous, but certain kinds of malicious software do more damage to your computer than others. Some malware goes to great lengths to prevent you from installing anything on your computer system, especially anti-virus software programs. If you’re reading this article, you may have got affected by malware that prevents you from downloading a security program such as Safebytes Antimalware on your PC. There are a few options you can try to get around with this particular obstacle.

Install the anti-virus in Safe Mode

If any malware is set to load immediately when Windows starts, stepping into Safe Mode could block the attempt. Just bare minimum required applications and services are loaded when you start your personal computer in Safe Mode. You will have to do the following to eliminate malware in Safe mode. 1) After switching on the computer, press the F8 key before the Windows splash screen begins to load. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode with Networking and hit ENTER. 3) As soon as this mode loads, you will have an internet connection. Now, make use of your browser normally and go to https://safebytes.com/products/anti-malware/ to download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 4) As soon as the software is installed, allow the scan run to eliminate viruses and other threats automatically.

Use an alternate web browser to download security application

Malicious program code might exploit vulnerabilities on a specific web browser and block access to all antivirus software websites. If you are not able to download the anti-malware application using Internet Explorer, it means malware could be targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you need to switch over to a different web browser like Firefox or Chrome to download Safebytes software.

Make a bootable USB antivirus drive

Another option is to create a portable antivirus program on your USB stick. Adopt these measures to employ a USB flash drive to clean your corrupted computer system. 1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or MS Windows Defender Offline onto a clean computer system. 2) Plug the Flash drive into the clean computer. 3) Run the setup program by double-clicking the executable file of the downloaded software, with an .exe file format. 4) Select the USB flash drive as the location for saving the software file. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. 5) Now, plug the USB drive into the corrupted system. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the thumb drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Run Full System Scan to detect and get rid of all kinds of malware.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware: Lightweight Malware Protection for Windows Computer

Nowadays, anti-malware software can protect your computer from various forms of online threats. But exactly how to select the best one among numerous malware protection application that is available in the market? You may be aware, there are lots of anti-malware companies and tools for you to consider. Some of them are great and some are scamware applications that pretend as authentic anti-malware software waiting around to wreak havoc on your computer. While looking for an anti-malware program, pick one which gives dependable, efficient, and total protection against all known computer viruses and malware. One of the strongly recommended software is SafeBytes Anti-Malware. SafeBytes has a really good history of excellent service, and customers are happy with it. SafeBytes anti-malware is a powerful, very effective protection application created to assist users of all levels of IT literacy in finding and removing harmful threats from their PC. Using its outstanding protection system, this utility will easily detect and remove most of the security threats, which include viruses, adware, browser hijackers, PUPs, trojans, worms, and ransomware. SafeBytes has great features when compared with various other anti-malware programs. Below are a few of the best ones: Active Protection: SafeBytes provides a completely hands-free live protection that is set to monitor, prevent and destroy all computer threats at its very first encounter. They are very effective in screening and eliminating different threats because they’re continuously revised with new updates and alerts. Anti-Malware Protection: With its enhanced and sophisticated algorithm, this malware removal tool can identify and eliminate the malware threats hiding in your PC effectively. SuperSpeed Scanning: This application has one of the fastest and most effective virus scanning engines in the industry. The scans are extremely accurate and take a short amount of time to complete. Safe Web Browsing: Safebytes allots all websites with a unique safety ranking that helps you to have an idea of whether the website you’re about to visit is safe to view or known to be a phishing site. Lightweight: SafeBytes gives you total protection from internet threats at a fraction of the CPU load because of its advanced detection engine and algorithms. 24/7 Premium Support: Skilled technicians are at your disposal 24/7! They will quickly resolve any technical issues you might be encountering with your security software.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you wish to manually remove MyFunCardsToolbar 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 MyFunCardsToolbar

Windows photo viewer was a popular photo viewing application integrated into Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 but in Windows 10 it has been replaced with photos, Microsoft's new application aimed at photo viewing on your desktop. Now if any one of you wonders why should be bringing the old application back to Windows 10 since we have an alternative one, the answer would be resources and speed. The old photo viewer application is lightweight, fast, and reliable, opening the same photo in both photo viewer and in new photos shows us that Microsofts new viewer application takes even three times more RAM, and it's visibly slower in loading times for pictures. Since I am a person who prefers speed and functionality over fancy looks I would be very glad to have the option to bring back a photo viewer. If you have by any chance Windows 10 as an upgrade, bringing back photo viewer is easy as 1,2,3. you just need to open settings and go to default apps, under photo viewer you should see your current default viewing application, probably photos, click on it to see options and choose photo viewer and exit the Settings menu, and you're done. Sadly if Windows 10 has been installed clean on the system and not as upgrade things are a little bit more complicated but do not worry, stay with us, keep reading and you will get there.

Activating photo viewer

How technically photo viewer is still in the system but not used we will have to make it available again and this we will do by adding some lines in the Windows registry, that being said, open a notepad and paste the following code as it is in it.

---

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\pngfile\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open] "MuiVerb"="@photoviewer.dll,-3043" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap] "ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\ 00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\ 77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\ 00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,36,00,00,\ 00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap\DefaultIcon] @="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-70" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print] "NeverDefault"="" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{60fd46de-f830-4894-a628-6fa81bc0190d}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF] "EditFlags"=dword:00010000 "ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\ 00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\ 77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\ 00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,35,00,00,\ 00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\DefaultIcon] @="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-72" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\shell\open] "MuiVerb"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,\ 69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,\ 00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,\ 72,00,5c,00,70,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,76,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,\ 00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,34,00,33,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg] "EditFlags"=dword:00010000 "ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\ 00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\ 77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\ 00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,35,00,00,\ 00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\DefaultIcon] @="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-72" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\shell\open] "MuiVerb"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,\ 69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,\ 00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,\ 72,00,5c,00,70,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,76,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,\ 00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,34,00,33,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif] "ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\ 00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\ 77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\ 00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,37,00,00,\ 00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif\DefaultIcon] @="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-83" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png] "ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001 "FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\ 00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\ 77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\ 00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,37,00,00,\ 00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png\DefaultIcon] @="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-71" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp] "EditFlags"=dword:00010000 "ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\DefaultIcon] @="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\wmphoto.dll,-400" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\shell\open] "MuiVerb"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,\ 69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,\ 00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,\ 72,00,5c,00,70,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,76,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,\ 00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,34,00,33,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\shell\open\DropTarget] "Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell\Image Preview\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\ 6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\ 00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\ 25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\ 6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\ 00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\ 5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\ 00,31,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell\Image Preview\DropTarget] "{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"="" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities] "ApplicationDescription"="@%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Photo Viewer\\photoviewer.dll,-3069" "ApplicationName"="@%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Photo Viewer\\photoviewer.dll,-3009" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities\FileAssociations] ".cr2"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff" ".jpg"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg" ".wdp"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp" ".jfif"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF" ".dib"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap" ".png"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png" ".jxr"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp" ".bmp"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap" ".jpe"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg" ".jpeg"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg" ".gif"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif" ".tif"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff" ".tiff"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

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Yup, that is a lot of keys and settings but you are almost done. Once you have pasted text into your new notepad document save it but as .REG, you can name it however you want but it has to be .REG extension. Once the file is saved double click on it to merge it into the Windows registry. You might need to turn off UAC for this operation (check our tutorial on this topic) and accept warning messages but once it is done you should now have an old photo viewer as a choice for your default viewing application. All you have to do now is to go to settings and go to default apps, under photo viewer you should see your current default viewing application, probably photos, click on it to see options and choose photo viewer and exit the Settings menu, and you're done.

ChatZum is a Potentially Unwanted Program that installs a Toolbar into your browser. This program allegedly allows users to zoom in on photos without clicking on them, however, upon further research, it was discovered that this function does not work on the latest version of browsers.

From the Author: ChatZum is a Browser add-on (toolbar) that enables its users to hover over images in Major Social network's websites and view a larger version of an image.

While installing this toolbar will track user web browsing sessions and will record website visits, clicks, and sometimes even personal information. This information is later used to display targeted ads to the user. To allow easier user tracking, the program changes the browser home page and default search engine to Nation Search Advanced, which injects additional advertisements and tracks user activity.

Several anti-virus applications have marked this program as Potentially Unwanted, and it is not recommended to keep it on your computer, especially considering the fact it will most likely not work on your browser.

About Potentially Unwanted Applications

If you have ever installed a free application or shareware, chances are high that the computer will get installed with a bunch of unwanted applications. A Potentially Unwanted Program, also called PUP, in short, is actually software that contains adware, installs toolbars, or has got other hidden objectives. These types of programs are generally bundled up with a free application that you download from the internet or may also be bundled inside the custom installers of many download websites. PUPs aren’t always viewed as “pure” malware in the strictest sense. A fundamental difference between PUP and malware is distribution. Malware is normally dropped by silent installation vectors like drive-by downloads while PUP gets installed with the consent of the computer user, who knowingly or unknowingly approves the PUP installation on their computer system. But, there is no doubt that PUPs remain bad news for PC users as it could be quite dangerous to your computer in many ways.

The damage PUPs can do

The unwanted programs after installation display numerous annoying pop-up ads, trigger fake alerts, and sometimes even forces a computer owner to pay for the software. PUPs that come as browser add-ons and toolbars are commonly recognizable. These toolbars alter your homepage and your search engine in the installed web browser, track your web activities, modify your search results with redirects and sponsored links, and eventually slow down your browser and diminish your browsing experience. Potentially unwanted programs use aggressive distribution methods to get onto your computer. The worst part of setting up a PUP is the adware, spyware, and keystroke loggers that could lurk inside. Even if the PUPs really aren’t inherently malicious, these applications still do practically nothing good on your PC – they’ll take valuable system resources, slow down your PC, weaken your computer security, making your PC more vulnerable to malware.

How to avoid ‘crapware’

• Read the EULA thoroughly. Look for clauses that state that you have to accept advertising and pop-ups or bundled applications from the company. • Always opt for the custom if you’re offered an option between “Custom” and “Recommended” Installations – never ever click Next, Next, Next thoughtlessly. • Use a good anti-malware application. Try Safebytes Anti-malware which can find PUPs and treat them as malware by flagging them for deletion. • Be alert if you download and install freeware, open-source applications, or shareware. Do not ever install software applications that seem shady or malicious. • Always download applications from the original website. The majority of PUPs find their way onto your laptop or computer is via download portals, so steer clear of it altogether. Remember the fact that even though PUPs could potentially cause damage and hinder the proper functioning of the PC, they can’t enter into your system without your consent, so be alert not to provide them with it.

How One Can Get rid of Malware that is Blocking Websites or Preventing Downloads

Malware could potentially cause many kinds of damage to PCs, networks, and data. Some malware goes to great lengths to stop you from downloading or installing anything on your computer, especially antivirus software. If you’re reading this article, odds are you’re stuck with a malware infection that is preventing you to download or install the Safebytes Anti-Malware program on your PC. Even though this sort of problem can be tougher to circumvent, there are some steps you can take.

Make use of Safe Mode to resolve the issue

If the malware is set to run automatically when Microsoft Windows starts, stepping into safe mode could block the attempt. Just minimal required programs and services are loaded when you boot your computer in Safe Mode. To launch your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers in Safe Mode with Networking, do as instructed below. 1) Tap the F8 key repeatedly as soon as your PC boots, however, before the big Windows logo or black screen with white texts come up. This would invoke the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and hit ENTER. 3) When this mode loads, you should have the internet. Now, obtain the malware removal program you want by utilizing the web browser. To install the program, follow the guidelines in the installation wizard. 4) Right after installation, do a full scan and allow the software program to get rid of the threats it detects.

Switch to an alternate internet browser

Some malware mainly targets certain browsers. If this is your situation, employ another internet browser as it might circumvent the computer virus. When you suspect that your Internet Explorer has been hijacked by a trojan or otherwise compromised by online hackers, the best thing to do is to switch over to an alternate internet browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Apple Safari to download your chosen security program – Safebytes Anti-Malware.

Create a portable USB antivirus for eliminating viruses

Another technique is to download and transfer an antivirus application from a clean computer to run a scan on the infected computer. Follow these steps to run the anti-malware on the affected computer. 1) Download the anti-malware on a virus-free PC. 2) Connect the flash drive to a USB slot on the clean computer. 3) Double click on the exe file to run the installation wizard. 4) Choose the USB stick as the location for saving the file. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish off the installation process. 5) Now, transfer the flash drive to the infected computer. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the USB drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Click the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.

Protect your PC from Malware With SafeBytes Security Suite

If you are looking to install an anti-malware program for your PC, there are lots of tools in the market to consider nonetheless, you just cannot trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is a paid or free program. A few of them are great but there are several scamware applications that pretend as authentic anti-malware programs waiting around to wreak havoc on your PC. You have to pick a company that develops industry-best anti-malware and it has earned a reputation as reliable. One of the highly recommended applications by industry analysts is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, the safest program for Microsoft Windows. SafeBytes can be described as a highly effective, real-time antivirus application that is made to assist the average computer user in protecting their PC from malicious internet threats. Through its cutting-edge technology, this software will help you protect your computer against infections brought on by various kinds of malware and other internet threats, including spyware, adware, trojans, worms, computer viruses, keyloggers, ransomware, and potentially unwanted program (PUPs).

There are many wonderful features you’ll get with this particular security product. Listed below are some of the features you will like in SafeBytes.

Active Protection: SafeBytes offers a completely hands-free active protection and is set to observe, block, and kill all computer threats at its very first encounter. It will check your PC for suspicious activity at all times and its unrivaled firewall shields your computer from illegal entry by the outside world. Robust, Anti-malware Protection: Using a critically acclaimed malware engine, SafeBytes offers multilayered protection which is made to catch and remove threats that are concealed deep inside your PC. Web Security: Safebytes allots all sites a unique safety ranking that helps you to get an idea of whether the webpage you’re just about to visit is safe to view or known to be a phishing site. Extremely Speed Scanning: SafeBytes’s virus scan engine is among the fastest and most efficient in the industry. It's targeted scanning significantly increases the catch rate for viruses which is embedded in various computer files. Lightweight: SafeBytes is really lightweight software. It consumes an extremely small amount of processing power as it runs in the background which means you will not observe any computer performance difficulties. 24/7 Support: For any technical concerns or product assistance, you may get 24/7 expert assistance via chat and email. To sum it up, SafeBytes Anti-Malware offers outstanding protection combined with an acceptable low system resources usage with both great malware detection and prevention. You now may realize that this particular tool does more than just scan and remove threats from your computer. You will get the best all-around protection for the money you pay on SafeBytes AntiMalware subscription, there’s no question about it.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you wish to do the removal of ChatZum manually rather than using an automated software tool, you can follow these simple steps: Navigate to the Windows Control Panel, click the “Add/Remove Programs” and there, choose the offending application to remove. In case of suspicious versions of web browser plug-ins, you can easily get rid of it through your web browser’s extension manager. You might also want to reset your home page and search providers, as well as delete browsing history, temporary files, and cookies. If you choose to manually remove the system files and Windows registry entries, use the following list to make sure you know exactly what files to remove before undertaking any actions. Please note that only advanced users should try to manually edit the system files mainly because removing any single vital registry entry results in a serious problem or even a PC crash. In addition, certain malware is capable of replicating itself or preventing its removal. Doing this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is recommended.