How to block websites in Windows

Can not open and run EXE file in Windows is not a new issue and sadly it can still happen from time to time, luckily this step by step solution will help you to resolve this problem fast and effective in no time. Try the below solutions in no particular order and I hope that you will solve the issue fast and be able to return to using the computer like it never happened

1. Run SFC scan

   As the EXE file not opening issue lies in the Windows OS, the SFC tool will be able to identify the cause and fix this issue. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X and choose command prompt (admin) in command prompt type: sfc /scannow Press ENTER

2. Check registry and modify if needed

   Sometimes value in the registry key is wrong and can cause this error, in order to check if this is the case, we will open the registry editor and find out Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to bring run dialog up type in it: RegEdit and press ENTER In the left pane of the Registry Editor window, click on the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT to expand the section Scroll down to find out the .exe registry and click on it Go to the right pane of the window and double-click on the Default and set the Value Data as exefile Click on the OK button Next, located the given in the window: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT>exefile>shell>open>command Click on the “Command” in the left pane of the window In the right pane of the window double-click on the Default and set Value Data as “%1” %* Click on the OK button Restart your computer and check if the issue persists

3. Turn off Firewall and defender

   If you have a firewall and antivirus active there might be a chance of a conflict and that firewall or antivirus is preventing the EXE file from starting, disable your firewall and anti-virus and try again to open the EXE file.

4. Turn off user account control

   User account control can also like a firewall prevent some files from executing, go into accounts and turn off user account control to see if this might be an issue preventing you from opening the file.

What is Webguard?

Developed by Interesting Solutions, Webguard is a tool supposedly used for tracking those online who’ve developed a habit of tracking you. The application would provide logical analysis into a user’s website history, providing insight on what websites you’ve visited and also how persons are able to track your every move while browsing. While Webguard is unable to dispose of who specifically is tracking your computer usage, they’re able to determine what computer installed tracking codes or cookies on your computer system. In this case, it’s then left up to the user’s discretion to determine who they want to allow or block from tracking their online use.  Overall, this application allows the user some measure of freedom and control over their online experience. Like any other application, however, which has landed themselves a spot on Virus Total, Web guard has hidden agendas. At a distance, Webguard installs a service for Windows but later distributes advertisements. Technical details about Webguard include:

Product Version: 1.0.0.0 Original File Name: crss.exe Entry Point:  0x000C5AAE

Assessment of Webguard Potentially Unwanted Program

While Webguard claims to track your computer usage, information reported by the application isn’t sufficient for the common computer user. This brings us back to the ulterior motive or principal objective of developing Webguard – to advertise and generate revenue from clicks made by users on Ads displayed on Internet Browsers – namely Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox. Why should a computer user remove Webguard? Simply, it compromises one's Internet privacy and security and it keeps abreast of your Internet history. If you’re online for an extended period, you’ll see what Webguard does. While the publishers behind the application did not alert users to the use of web beacons, cookies for tracking, and other related tracking technology, that’s not why Webguard is considered unwanted. The program is potentially unwanted because of the unpredictable advertisements it displays. Not all sites are trusted and so it’s difficult to determine, in some cases, what websites are legit for business.

Remove Webguard with Spyhunter

In most cases, at least from what I’ve seen, Webguard is installed as a single application. After it was installed for this assessment, it could be found in ‘All Programs”. This meant that one could manually delete the application from their computer system (see manual steps below). However, is that really sufficient to completely rid your PC of Webguard’s blueprints? While you might opt to remove Webguard manually – maybe because it’s more economical – an automated process is able to completely eradicate hidden threats from Webguard. In comparison to manually removing Webguard, Spyhunter penetrates your computer system for all infections. In most cases, nasty threats are unable to be removed manually. Additionally, Spyhunter not only removes installed threats, but it detects incoming ones – hence, acting as a preventative tool. Furthermore, Spyhunter detects cookies placed on your computer by Webguard. These are all undetectable threats and so an automated tool, as Spyhunter, should be used to remove Spyhunter effectively from your computer.

Manual Steps for Removal of Webguard

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

• Step 1: Locate the CONTROL PANEL on your computer using the SEARCH option.
• Step 2: Once the search box appears , input 'CONTROL PANEL'.
• Step 3: The Control Panel option will then appear. From the menu, choose the "Programs" option.
• Step 4: Another menu will appear. Select "All Programs and Features".
• Step 5: From the 'Programs list', search for the Webguard application.
• Step 6: Right-click on Webguard when it's found.
• Step 7:  Choose the "Uninstall" option.
• Step 8:  Follow the uninstall wizard instructions until the Webguard application is fully removed.

To completely remove Bandoo from your computer, click here to download and install Spyhunter

DirectX encountered unrecoverable error usually face gamers when they try to star certain game. In this guide, we will help you to get over it and solve the issue. Follow steps in this guide one after another since they go from most simple ones to complex ones so following is advised in order not to waste a ton of time and resources doing wrong tasks.

1. Check your game page and your DirectX

   The first and most common thing that can cause this type of error is when your installed DirectX is not the same version that the game requires. Check the game store page to see system requirements and write down which DirectX version it requires in order to run. Then press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to bring run dialog and type in it DXDIAG and press ENTER DX diagnostic window will pop up and at the bottom, you can find which DirectX version is installed on your system. If versions are different, install the required DirectX version and run the game.

2. Update or reinstall GPU drivers

   DirectX can get corrupted via bad driver update, in order to fix this, reinstall or update your Graphic drivers to the latest version from the official manufacturers' website.

3. Set custom scaling to 100

   Go into Windows settings and set custom Display scaling to a value of 100, sign out, and then sign back in.

4. Delete registry key

   Note that you should do this as the last option and be very careful since you can crash whole Windows in this way. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog and type RegEdit in it to open the registry editor. Find this key: ComputerHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTPROTOCOLSFiltertext/XML and delete it from the registry, you might want to do a backup of the registry first, just in case.

Just what is a PST File?

PST file is the acronym for Private Storage Table. It is a proprietary file structure utilized in the ms-outlook program shop and to preserve attachments as well as e-mails, notifications, scheduled calendar events, and even more. This structure can also be called a Personal Folder File. The storage limit or the size varies today with respect to the Outlook version you've got installed. The PST file size limit depends on the edition you have installed. Outlook 2002 and earlier versions have a memory limitation of 2GB while later versions such as Outlook 2013 have up to 50GB memory limit.

Error Causes

You will be amazed to discover there is not a single cause behind this problem. The File can be damaged due to a number of reasons including:

• Virus infection
• Incorrect file system recovery
• Data storage device failure
• Storage size limit exceeds
• Sometimes due to power failure when accessing the PST files

Once this File becomes corrupted and broken, it places you in danger of losing your important e-mails and attachments. Moreover, this stops you from getting or sending e-mails to and from your own associates. And in case you would like to add new contacts, you are greatly hindered. It reduces your productivity. For individuals relying completely on the Outlook program for communicating via e-mails and maintaining a track of important dates that they have set reminders for and scheduled in their calendars, the PST file problem is a nightmare. It decreases productiveness and performance.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To regain the damaged File without removing old e-mails Install a PST File Repair Tool. The latter one is probably the best way to resolve this issue without compromising on your old important emails and contacts. There are a number of repair resources out there. Each device provides a distinct degree of characteristics and performance. We urge you to use Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair Tool. Not only does this repair tool aid work out PST file error that is damaged, but it also helps with data recovery. With this particular tool, it is possible to recover even the erased files you've removed from your Outlook Installation before the PST file got corrupted. Wait there is more! It is also possible to raise the memory limit by installing this repair tool on your computer. What this means is in the event the PST file corruption's cause was associated with the storage size limit, it is easily worked out. With an increase in memory, you can keep your older emails and continue storing new mail from associates. To begin, Click here to Download Install Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair on your personal computer and run it to restore the PST files.

Error Code0x80070426 - What is it?

When Windows evolved into Windows 10, the program known as Windows Security Essentials is no longer. It is now the program known as Windows Defender. When a computer is upgraded from a previous version of Windows up to Windows 10, the Windows Defender takes over and will replace the Security Essentials. In a small percentage of Windows 10 upgrades, something will go wrong and the new program will fail to replace Security Essentials. The result will be that the operating system has both of the programs installed. In this case, Windows Defender will not offer any protection and Security Essentials will not be able to defend either. This error code will also present itself when the Windows Mail App in Windows 10 fail to retrieve and sync email from the user's account.

Common symptoms include:

• There will be an error message that says: “An error has occurred in the program initialization. If this problem does continue, contact your System Admin. Error code 0x80070426.”
• The computer will be left completely vulnerable to spyware and viruses.
• The Windows Mail App will not be able to retrieve mail and will not sync with the PC user's mail.
• The user can be doing anything on their computer and the error code will show up unprompted.
• The computer will lock up, become slow, crash, or even freeze when dealing with error code 0x80070426.
• The programs from an older version of Windows do not replace the newer version from Windows 10.

Solution

Error Causes

Error code 0x80070426 will present itself when a PC user has upgraded their OS from a previous version of Windows to the new Windows 10 version. When this happens, a small portion of users will experience the disconnect between older versions of specific programs, namely the virus protection. When the previous version of the program under a different name is not completely removed and the new virus protection program is installed, the programs will cancel each other out and collectively offer no protection.

This error code may also be found when Windows 10 tries to sync the user's email with the Windows Mail App.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There are a few methods to repair this problem. It should be noted that should anyone feel that the instructions are too complicated, they should contact a Windows repair technician to ensure that the error is fixed properly.

Method One: Uninstall Microsoft Essentials

Hold down the Windows Key and press R. Type in taskmgr into the run dialogue. You should locate the Windows Defender Service (this may show up as Windefend). Right-click on it and then choose Stop.

This will stop the program, but the program will start back up automatically when the computer restarts. While this program is stopped, uninstall Essentials.

To do this: go to Control Panel, Programs, and Features, Uninstall a Program. Alternately, you may hold down the Windows Key and press R, type in appwiz.cpl, click OK, and then locate Microsoft Essentials. Uninstall it, and then restart your computer.

After this is done, go to Settings, Update, and Security. Choose Windows Defender and ensure that Real-time protection is on. Refer back to the Task Manager, Services. Make sure that Defender service is on and running.

Method Two: If the problem occurs in the Windows Mail App

When error code 0x80070426 presents itself in the form of an error with the Mail app, it may be necessary to run an SFC scan.

Right-click on the Start menu or Windows icon, and select Command prompt. The command prompt may be navigated by using shortcut keys Win and X and then select it.

Run the command prompt and then type in sfc /scannow and then press enter. The SFC scan will be run, and be careful not to abort the process before it has finished. This will scan for any files that are lost or corrupt on the PC.

If the scan has found any corrupt files, type in this code and then hit Enter: findstr /c:”[SR]” %windir%LogsCBSCBS.log >”%userprofile%Desktopsfcdetails.txt.

To skip the repair of corrupt or missing files, type in: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. The details of the scan can be found on the sfcdetails.txt file that will be on the desktop.

Method Three: Use An Automated Tool

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

Error Code 0x800704c7 – What is it?

Error code 0x800704c7 occurs when Windows users attempt to update their system. It affects various Windows users including those using Windows 7, Windows 8, and 8.1 and Windows 10. It usually occurs due to poor maintenance of the system and includes common symptoms such as the following:

• Inability to upgrade your Windows operating system
• Message box with error code 0x800704c7

Solution

Error Causes

Error code 0x800704c7 in Windows 10 can occur due to several reasons. For instance, it may be due to corrupted or missing system files. It may also result from malicious programs affecting your system or occur when a program or several programs are running in the background of one’s system while the user attempts to run the update.

To correct this issue, Windows users will need to select one or a few methods, depending on the issues affecting their PC.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Some of the best solutions for error code 0x800704c7 available to Windows users including using tools to scan for missing systems files or correct other issues inherent within your system.

These methods may include the use of Command Prompt and the performance of technical repair procedures. If you are uncertain of your skills, avoid compounding the issue or causing further damage to your PC by contacting a skilled Windows repair technician. This IT professional will be best equipped to use Windows tools and other methods to resolve error code 0x800704c7.

Method One: Scan Your System for Missing or Corrupt System Files

Using System File Checker Tool (SFC), Windows users can check their system for missing o corrupt system files. These utility tools within your Windows device will be able to replace missing files and repair corrupted ones, resulting in a more efficient system.  Run this tool by following the steps below:

• Step One: Go to Start and type Command Prompt or CMD.
• Step Two: Run as Administrator
• Step Three: Type sfc /scannow. (Be sure to place a space between “sfc” and “/scannow”).

After running these procedures, check if the error code has been resolved. Go to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. Update your Windows operating system. If error code 0x800704c7 reoccurs, you will need to try the next method below.

Method Two: Restore your System

System Restore is one of the best manual repair solutions Windows users can apply when they come across error codes like error code 0x800704c7. That’s because this method requires no technical or advanced knowledge and therefore can be performed by anyone. Simply follow the steps below to restore your system to a period of time in the past where the error was not present on your system. If done correctly, this could enable you to resolve the issue with little frustration on your part.

• Step one: Type Control Panel in the search bar near the Start button
• Step two: Select Control Panel, then Recovery
• Step three: Select System Restore then click Next
• Step four: Select a restore point before appeared on your Windows 10 system
• Step five: Select Next then Finish

Note that once System Restore is enabled it will remove drivers, apps, and even updates installed after the restore point. For this reason, be careful to choose the most appropriate restore point. Also once you’ve completed this task, check to see if you are able to update your system. If the update stops before the process is complete and a message box occurs with the error code 0x800704c7, proceed to the next manual repair option below.

Method Three: Check for and Remove Malware

Viruses or other forms of malware can adversely affect your system, causing error codes and other issues to take place. To resolve error code 0x800704c7 in Windows 10, check for and remove malware using a reputable anti-malware program.

If no anti-virus software is present on your system or if you scan your device but fail to spot an issue, proceed to method four.

Method Four: Use an Automated Tool

This method involves the use of a powerful automated tool. But why is this important you might ask? A third-party tool is often the best solution when all manual repair efforts fail. Automated tools come equipped to tackle the most serious PC problems including error codes which can cause frustration and result in reduces PC performance.

Taking information from the internet or from other sources usually involves selecting the text, copying it into the clipboard, and then pasting it into your file. In today's modern applications pasting text will most of the time take its formating with it.

By formatting what I am talking about are parameters like font size, line breaks, hyperlinks, font styles, etc. and sometimes you do not want any of these in your file, you would like and prefer to have just plain text so you can format it as you wish.

In order to paste just plain text instead of using the CTRL + V keyboard shortcut, press CTRL + SHIFT + V instead. This shortcut will paste the only text into your file.

Shortcut and Microsoft Word

Leave it to Microsoft to make its shortcut not work in their application. In Microsoft Word, you can only use the standard CTRL + V shortcut, if you press CTRL + SHIFT + V nothing will happen. So in order to paste the only text into a word document, choose to paste special > text only

Other applications

I have tried CTRL + SHIFT + V in various applications like photoshop, illustrator, InDesign, visual studio code, slack, discord, WordPress installations, etc and only one that has not worked for me was Word and office in general so you are safe to use this trick and have desired results.

As you know, the USB security keys are a secure medium to validate a lot of components in a computer. They can be used to log in to Windows 10. Now with the advancement of APIs, you can authenticate across the website as well using the same key. However, there are times when it may not work and it could be caused by several factors. It could be due to corrupted or incompatible drivers or it could also be due to compromised integrity of the key, and many more. So if you happen to encounter an issue with the USB security key on your Windows 10 computer, then there are several potential fixes you can try. You can try toggling the Internet Options settings or reinstall the respective USB drivers. You could also try changing the PIN of the security key or disable the antivirus program on your computer or troubleshoot the web browser. Refer to the potential fixes provided below to fix the problem.

Option 1 – Try to toggle the settings of the Internet Options

• In the Windows Search box, search for Internet Options to open it.
• Next, go to the Security tab and drag the security slider to the lowest possible security for all the given zones.
• After that, click on OK to save the changes made and close the Internet Options.

Note that this option is only a temporary measure as it can make your computer vulnerable. Make sure to press the Reset all zones to default level button.

Option 2 – Try to update or reinstall the respective drivers

If updating the drivers of the device did not fix the problem with the USB security key, you can try to update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller drivers instead of using the Device Manager. Refer to the following steps:

• First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
• Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
• From there, look for the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” option and then right-click on each one of the USB drivers and select the Update Driver from the menu.

Note: If it is a regular USB drive, then it will be listed as a USB Mass Storage Device but if you have a USB 3.0 device, then look for a USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller.

• Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.

Note: If updating the USB Controller drivers didn’t work, you can try to reinstall them instead.

Option 3 – Try to change the PIN of the security key

If the first two options didn’t work, you can try changing the PIN of the security key. There are instances when the PIN for the security key might have been corrupted. Thus, resetting it can help you resolve the problem.

Option 4 – Temporarily disable Firewall and third-party antivirus

Firewall and antivirus programs are known to block the proper functioning of the USB security key. Thus, your antivirus or firewall programs might be the reason why you can’t download anything on your Windows 10 computer. To isolate the issue, you need to temporarily disable both the Firewall and antivirus programs and then check if you can now download anything from the internet. Do not forget to enable them again as disabling them can leave your computer vulnerable to cyber threats.

Option 5 – Try to troubleshoot the web browser

Troubleshooting your web browser can also help you fix the USB security key problem. You can do that by checking if your web browser supports the security key and you can do that by checking on the official website of your browser. You can also try to update your web browser to its latest version but if it didn’t help, you can try to reinstall it or switch to another web browser.

Visual studio code is a code editor available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is a completely free tool offering you to code in any language without the need to switch to another editor. Visual Studio Code is part of Microsoft Visual Studio which is a complete integrated development environment (IDE). Take notice that Visual studio itself has more advanced tools for developing and testing, it has 24/7 support, training, and Azure for WEB apps. Visual Studio Code is an editor lacking in some advanced features Visual Studio offers.

Visual Studio code Price and royalty

As mentioned Visual Studio code is completely free licensed under the MIT license agreement giving you the tool free to use and sell your product. How it supports Linux, Windows, and macOS, all you need it to go to its official page https://code.visualstudio.com/, download it and start using it. How this is free project backside is that there is no official support, you will have to rely on various articles and community in order to get needed information or problem solution.

Features

Syntax highlighting has become standard and norm for any editor but besides this function VS code offers us also IntelliSense option which goes a step further with code completion, code hinting, and parameter info. This means that VS code is aware of many things going on inside your code and will offer you as you type a menu with options for autocomplete along with variables referenced, function names, etc. VS code offers extensions inside its extensions marketplace where you can add extensions in order to implement new languages, add debuggers, change the layout, etc. This is one of the great features it allows you to easily switch from one project to another, one language to another not leaving your code editor. Working with version control systems like Git is easy with VS Code. You’ll be able to stage files and make commits, then push and pull changes to your remote code repository of choice, right from the editor.

Conclusion about Visual Studio code

Visual Studio Code is one of if not the most flexible and extensible code editors currently on the market that I have ever tried and used. IT has become my code editor of choice simply for reasons that there is really not much it cannot do and it is constantly updated and taken care of. You can really tune it to look and feels how you want with extensions and you really cannot beat the free price tag. I would highly recommend this editor for daily use especially since its biggest competitors like Atom and sublime text have not seen many updates lately.

One of the most popular and most used web browsers commonly used by Windows users is Google Chrome. This well-known web browser has been introducing various features recently in order to stay at the top. However, it makes the web browser a lot more complex and thus prone to errors. Although this may not be a big deal, it can be quite annoying as it can interrupt your web browsing. There are various errors that can come up with this level of complexity of the web browser. One of these errors is the “This site can’t be loaded from the cache, ERR_CACHE_MISS” error message that can suddenly appear while you browse the web using your Google Chrome browser on your Windows 10 PC. Take note that when you encounter this particular error, there really is no direct fault in the Chrome browser as there are also issues with caching the website data locally in the computer. Moreover, this error can also occur when a website is coded in an incorrect manner or if there are some browser extensions or toolbars that are in conflict with the proper functioning of the website. To fix the ERR_CACHE_MISS error in Google Chrome, refer to the possible solutions laid out below.

Option 1 – Try clearing browser data

There are times when some data in the browser is conflicting with the loading of the website and triggers errors like ERR_CACHE_MISS. And so you can try to clear your browser’s data. This might be a very basic solution but oftentimes it works in fixing this kind of error in Google Chrome. Follow the steps below to clear the data in your browser.

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

Option 2 – Try using the Developer Tools

You can also try using the Developer tools in Google Chrome to help you fix the ERR_CACHE_MISS error. Refer to the steps below to do so.

• Open Google Chrome.
• Tap the Ctrl + Shift + I keys on your keyboard and then tap the F1 key to open the Settings tab inside the Chrome Developer Tools.
• Next, select the Disable cache option while DevTools is open and apply those settings.
• After that, refresh your browser and check if the entries you’ve seen previously in the Network tab are gone.
• Now try to load the same webpage again and see if the problem is resolved.

Option 3 – Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS

Resetting Winsock, TCP/IP, and flushing DNS might help you resolve the ERR_CACHE_MISS error. To do so, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator) so you can pull up an elevated Command Prompt.
• After that, execute each one of the commands listed below. And after you typed in one after the other, you have to hit Enter.

1. netsh winsock reset – type in this command to reset Winsock
2. netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt – type in this command to reset TCP/IP
3. ipconfig /flushdns – type in this command to flush the DNS cache

• Next, restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed.

Option 4 – Get rid of any conflicting browser extensions

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

Note: If removing the browser extensions or toolbars didn’t work, you can also try to reset your Google Chrome browser.

• Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
• After that, click on Settings.
• Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
• After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
• Now restart Google Chrome.