As you know, USB is now being widely used in all devices with USB A as the leading type with most devices based on it. Peripheral devices such as Pen Drives, External Hard disks, and many more also use a USB port. On the other hand, USB C is also coming up to be the next big standard in the computing world because of its high transfer speeds, wider compatibility as well as support for external Graphics Processing Units. However, just recently, USB 3.0 ports have been reported to cause the following error to pop up on Windows 10 computers every time a USB device is plugged in.
“Not enough USB controller resources. The controller does not have enough resources for this device.”
To fix this error, here are some guidelines you can check out. Make sure to follow them carefully.
Option 1 – Try to use a lower generation USB port
The first thing you can do is to try using a lower generation USB port as this issue mostly occurs when a device is connected to a USB 3,0 port. This means that you have to plug in your device to a USB 2.0 port and then see if it fixes the error or not. You can easily decipher a USB 3.0 port from a USB 2.0 port as the former is in blue.
Option 2 – Try to use a dock
You could also try to use a dock to resolve the error. Note that when too much power on laptops and notebooks are drawn from the USB ports and as a USB 3.0 port draws more power compared to a USB 2.0 port. Thus, if you plug in your USB storage device into a USB 2.0 port with the help of a dock, it should fix the problem.
Option 3 – Try disabling the xHCI Mode option in the BIOS
First, boot your computer into the BIOS.
Once your computer has booted, go to the Advanced tab.
Next, make sure that the entry for “xHCI Pre-boot mode” is set to Disabled under the USB Configuration section.
Now save the changes you’ve made and then restart your computer to Windows 10 and see if the error is now fixed.
Option 4 – Update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller driver
Since it could be a driver issue, you can try to update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller drivers 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, especially the Generic USB Hub driver, and then select the Update Driver from the menu.
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 5 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
You could also run the Hardware and device Troubleshooter to try and fix the “Not enough USB controller resources” error.
The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.
Internal error 2753 is associated with Windows Installer failure. The Windows Installer is basically an in-built software program in Windows 7 and 8.
It installs all programs on the system smoothly, saves the program in the computer program files and in the Windows Registry.
Though this can be carried manually Windows Installer makes the installation process much easier.
However, internal error 2753 can cause a great deal of distress and frustration during program installation. This error prevents you from installing your desired program successfully.
Solution
Error Causes
The 2 known causes for Internal Error 2753 are:
Viral infection
Windows Installer not properly registered
Further Information and Manual Repair
To resolve internal error 2753 on your system, try the methods discussed below. These methods are easy and require no technical expertise.
Let’s get started:
Method 1 - Remove All Malicious Programs
Malicious programs like viruses, malware, adware, Trojan and spyware can corrupt programs on your PC like Windows Installer.
If this is the underlying cause of error code 2753, then simply download a powerful antivirus on your system. Run it to scan for all such malicious programs and remove them.
Once your PC is clean, try installing your desired program. This will hopefully resolve the issue. If the error still pops up then try method 2.
Method 2 - Register Windows Installer Properly
To do this, go to the start menu and then open Run and type ‘cmd’ in the box, and press OK. This will open the DOS command window.
In the command prompt type "regsvr32 vbscript.dll" and then press Enter to proceed. After that, you will see a message that will read as "DllRegisterServer in vbscript.dll succeeded."
This means Window Installer files have been successfully registered on your PC. Now you can try installing your desired program again.
If the installation begins and completes successfully, then the error is resolved.
Method 3 - Undo Recent Changes
If nothing works, then use the Windows System Restore Utility tool to undo recent changes. This will bring back your PC in the former state before you experienced the error 2753 on your PC.
To access System Restore Utility, press Start and type System Restore in the search box. Now follow the steps in the Wizard to choose a restore point. Once you select the point, reboot your system to activate changes.
BigTech platforms Google and Facebook were hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the US federal government and states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power.
Below is the status of the cases, as well as government probes of Apple and Amazon in their current states
Two lawsuits against Facebook
In a defeat, Judge James Boasberg said the Federal Trade Commission, which had sued Facebook in December asking that Facebook be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram, failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market, among other problems. However, the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29.
He threw out a related state lawsuit entirely, saying that the attorney's general had waited too long. They are looking at their options.
Four lawsuits against Google
The US Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial date was set for September 12, 2023.
A lawsuit by 38 US states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs, and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery.
Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online advertising business.
Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July 7, alleging that it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones.
Justice Department investigates Apple
This probe, revealed in June 2019, appears to focus on Apple's app store. Some app developers have accused Apple of introducing new products very similar to existing apps created by other developers and sold in the Apple Store, and then trying to banish the older apps from the store because they compete with Apple's new product. Apple says it seeks to have only the highest-quality apps in the app store.
Justice Department probing Facebook and Amazon
In July 2019, the Justice Department said it was expanding its Big Tech probes to include "search, social media, and some retail services online", an apparent reference to Facebook and Amazon.
Federal Trade Commission on Amazon
In its investigation of Amazon, the FTC is likely looking at the inherent conflict of interest of Amazon competing with small sellers on its marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce.
In case you don’t know, Windows 10 supports installation and use of a number of removable devices which includes plug and plays mouse, keyboard, and other USB-based devices. But this could actually pose a threat to the integrity of a computer system and thus, some organizations pose a restriction in using these kinds of devices.
the restriction on these devices is also useful especially if you keep on leaving your computer idle and someone tries to mess it up by plugging in a removable device. In such situations, the restriction will defend the user against data theft. Thus, in this post, you will be guided on how you can prevent the installation of removable devices on your Windows 10 computer.
There are two options that can help you in preventing the installation of any removable devices on your computer – you can either try to use the Registry Editor or use the Group Policy Editor instead. Follow whichever option you want to use the instructions given below but before you start, don’t forget to create a System Restore Point first.
Option 1 – Prevent installation of Removable Devices via Registry Editor
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsDeviceInstallRestrictions
From there, look for a DWORD named “DenyRemovableDevices” and set its value to “0”. On the other hand, if you can’t find this DWORD, just simply create it and set its value to 0.
Once done, exit the Registry Editor and reboot your PC to apply the changes made.
Option 2 – Prevent installation of Removable Devices via Group Policy Editor
Keep in mind that the Group Policy Editor is not available in the Home Edition of the Windows operating systems. Thus, if you are using one, just stick to the first option, otherwise, proceed to the following steps.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “gpedit.msc” and click OK or tap Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
After that, go to this policy setting: Computer ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesSystemDevice InstallationDevice Installation Restrictions
Next, look for the “Prevent installation of removable devices” entry and once you find it, set it as “Enabled”. From this window, you should see the following description of this policy setting:
“This policy setting allows you to prevent Windows from installing removable devices. A device is considered removable when the driver for the device to which it is connected indicates that the device is removable. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device is reported to be removable by the drivers for the USB hub to which the device is connected. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing removable devices and existing removable devices cannot have their drivers updated. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of removable devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows can install and update device drivers for removable devices as allowed or prevented by other policy settings.”
Then click the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
Now restart your computer to save the changes made. This should prevent the installation of any removable devices in your Windows 10 computer.
Ever gotten an e-mail offer that seemed just a little bit too good to be true? Might’ve been a phishing attempt! These are everywhere and can come in many different forms.
So what’s phishing exactly, how can you detect it and how can you keep safe?
What is phishing?
Phishing (pronounced like fishing) is a type of cyberattack that tricks the user into trusting the source and revealing sensitive information. Fishing being the perfect analogy, the bait is a legitimate-looking site, e-mail or file and when you take a bite, your identity, banking information and much more can be revealed and stolen.
Some phishing attempts are incredibly obvious, others are super elaborate. Like with most types of malware, cybercriminals have become extremely well-versed in phishing and anyone can fall for it. To help you recognize and avoid it, we’ll take you through a couple of phishing types and give you tips on what to do if faced with them.
Phishing techniques
E-mail phishing
This is actually the most common type of phishing. A cybercriminal creates an e-mail containing stuff like attractive offers, legitimate-looking attachments or links and makes it appear as though it’s coming from a trusted source.
For example, it looks like it’s coming from your bank or your favorite retailer. The logo looks legit and the structure of the e-mail seems familiar, so you might get tricked into clicking on whatever clickable content is in it.
Unfortunately this exposes your device to malware that hands your data off to the hacker, who can decide what to do with it further.
SMS and social media phishing
Like the above example, you could be approached with lucrative offers or links via text messages or social media messages. Typically, the messages seem relevant to the user as they will be made to look like they’re related to apps or services you’re using.
Voice phishing
Voice phishing attacks are schemes that appear as though they’re coming from a credible number. Normally, you’ll get a call about something related to credit cards or taxes to get you into a state of worry, leading you to disclose personal information on the phone.
Spear phishing, whaling and BEC
Spear phishing normally targets specific individuals within a company who are likely to have access to sensitive data. Spear phishers spend time collecting information they can use to reach out to the individual looking as trustworthy as possible. They’ll typically lead with something relevant, for example mentioning an upcoming company event, and make a seemingly legitimate request.
Whaling is a more elaborate form of spear phishing, which targets people in even stronger positions such as executives or high-value individuals. The ultimate goal is to get them to transfer financial or other sensitive information that can be used to compromise the entire business.
BEC, or Business e-mail compromise, is a specific spear phishing technique carried out via e-mail. While there are many ways this is done, most commonly you’ll see instances where the phisher poses as a CEO or similar executive, or as a lower-level employee in specific positions (e.g. sales managers or financial controllers).
In the first situation, the impersonator reaches out to employees requesting them to transfer certain files or pay invoices. In the second situation, the phisher takes control of the employee’s e-mail account and sends false instructions to other employees in order to obtain data and information from them.
What can you do?
There are many ways you can be aware and spot a phishing attempt. Here are some tips:
Always check the sender’s address in your e-mails, even when they seem to come from a familiar source.
In any instance where payment information is requested, be very, very careful.
If you are receiving attachments you never asked for and definitely didn’t expect, better not click on them.
Beware of content that transmits a sense of urgency (sales deals, urgent updates to login credentials, etc.).
Bad spelling and grammar are usually a telltale sign of phishing.
Links that look shortened (e.g. Bit.ly) or just suspicious in general - if you have a bad feeling, do not click on them.
If you are receiving threats, you probably shouldn’t be clicking on anything in that message.
Always examine first-time senders in detail.
Block suspicious e-mail addresses, numbers and social media accounts.
If you are receiving a coupon for free stuff… You aren’t.
If you’re being asked to update your payment details by a service you use, such as Netflix, chances are it’s an impersonator.
Those are some of the ways to identify and prevent phishing attacks. However, sometimes phishers disguise themselves a little too well or a misclick happens and there you go - you’ve been exposed to malware.
This won’t happen if you invest in powerful protection software from the get-go, though. A good antivirus program like Bitdefender will keep you safe from becoming a victim of phishing scams. In fact, it will protect you from malicious attacks overall.
Be it your household or your business you’re concerned about, there are a bunch of different packages and options available, providing different kinds of cybersecurity services. That’s the only way you can ever really be sure you aren’t at risk of a digital attack.
Summary
Have you ever been targeted by phishers and didn’t know that’s what it was until you read this article? Many can relate. Protect yourself before it’s too late!
The Error Code 0x800488AB will appear when a user is in the Windows 10 Mail app and has provided an Outlook.com e-mail address. The mail app will give a message that the “account information is out of date” and it does provide an option to fix the issue. After clicking the Fix button, this error code will show up to the user.
Common symptoms include:
A dialog box will appear with the Error Code 0x800488AB
Microsoft Windows 10 Mail App will not retrieve (or subsequently send) mail
User cannot delete and re-add the Outlook email account in the Windows 10 Mail app
User can still access and log in to various Microsoft websites, including logging into the Outlook Mail website
Solution
Error Causes
This error can be caused by a few different actions of the user when they have changed a password or a PIN number to access their Outlook mail. This error does have a relatively easy fix after the cause is determined and where the break-in information has occurred. A few of the causes may be:
If the user changes their password on the Microsoft website and uses the alternative PIN login method to access the Mail App.
The log-in information on the Microsoft website does not match the login information on the Windows 10 App.
The login information was changed on the Microsoft website and was not updated to reflect on the Windows 10 Mail app.
The Microsoft website and Microsoft Mail app do not share the knowledge of the change in login credentials, therefore the log-in credentials appear to be incorrect when trying to access the Microsoft Mail app. It should be noted that a user may bypass the password option if they log in to the Microsoft Mail app while using the alternative PIN log-in method, thus still leaving the password undetected.
Further Information and Manual Repair
As is the case with all new technology and having a few wrinkles, the release of Microsoft Windows 10 is not left out. There have been a few discussions of errors and bugs, including Error Code 0x800488AB. As of right now, there are three different methods that can be utilized by any at-home user. These methods are rather simple and make sense when the problem has been identified.
Method 1:
Run the built-in Windows Store Apps troubleshooter:
Press the Windows Key and then type ‘troubleshoot’ and hit Enter
Select “View all” on the left panel and run the “Windows Store Apps” troubleshooter from the list displayed and see if it works.
Method 2:
Use the System File Checker tool to repair corrupted or missing system files:
Click Start.
Type cmd, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER to open the elevated command prompt (I.e. Command prompt with administrative rights).
The User Account Control window should appear, be sure that the action it exhibits is correct, and then press the Continue button.
Type or copy-paste the below command line into it without quotes:
“Sfc /scannow”
Method 3:
Press the Windows Key
Search for "Credentials Manager"
Click on Windows Credentials
Look for any reference to your windows account (generally your @outlook.com is listed)
Delete them.
Then select your account at the top of the start menu and select Log Out.
If using a Pin Code, switch to type input and put your password into the box.
When you go to Mail, and select "Fix Issues" it will detect your password and your account should sync with new emails. In some cases, depending on why this particular error code was caused, you may have to use a powerful automated tool to have it resolved.
Connecting to Microsoft’s Windows Update servers does not always go smoothly since you could run into a number of errors. One of these errors is the error code 0x8024402c. You can see this error code when you check for Windows Updates. This kind of Windows Update error occurs when the proxy or the firewall settings are incorrectly configured. As a result, the client’s connection to the Windows Update servers fails.
There are two things you can do to resolve error code 0x8024402c. First, you can try to fix the Proxy Settings. Second, you can set up Automatically Detect the connection settings. In addition, you can also try to perform System Restore as it could also help in fixing the problem. Performing System Restore might help you in fixing the error code 0x8024402C. Refer to the steps below to use System Restore.
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.
If performing System Restore didn’t help in fixing the problem, then try the two given options below.
Option 1 – Try fixing the Proxy Settings
In the Cortana search box, search for Internet Explorer and then click on the related search result.
After that, tap the Win + T keys on your keyboard and click on Internet Options.
Next, navigate to the Connections tab and click on LAN Settings.
Then click on the Advanced button and delete all the entries in the list generated in the Exceptions section. And if the Advanced button is disabled because the “Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will not apply to dial-up or VPN connections)” option is disabled then you are good to go. Now proceed to the next step.
Tap the Win + X keys or right-click on the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) or you could also search for “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
If a User Account Control appears, click on Yes to proceed. After that, type each one of the commands listed below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type each one of them.
netsh winhttp reset proxy
net stop wuauserv
net start wuauserv
Now restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not by checking for Windows Updates again.
Option 2 – Try setting up Automatically Detect the connection settings
Type in “internet options” in the Cortana search box and then click on the related search result.
After that, navigate to the Connections tab.
Next, click on the LAN Settings button located under the Local Area Network (LAN) settings section.
Then uncheck the “Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will not apply to dial-up or VPN connections)” option under the Proxy Server section and click OK.
Now restart your computer to apply the changes made successfully.
Quest 2 has been crowned as the best overall VR headset by many websites, and to be honest it is really a great piece of equipment deserving of every praise it gets. It seems that Meta feels that it can do better so the new upcoming Quest Pro is upgraded and a new line of VR sets from this company. The economic standard Quest line will not be shut down and it will still remain as an economic version of Meta's VR product line.
Quest Pro will be added as a new line of the better product line with better performance and better quality. It is the first VR headset that is packing Qualcomm Snapdragon XR3+ Gen 1 chipset, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and 10 high-resolution sensors. Of course, this much power and improvement come with a higher price tag, this time that price tag is $1,499.99.
The new VR headset promises industry-leading visuals with a new optical stack instead of Fresnel lenses in Meta Quest 2 with thin-layer pancake optics that fold light reducing the depth of the optical module by 40% and at the same provides clear and sharp visuals.
The headset will give display more vivid colors, richer colors, and higher contrast by incorporating local dimming and quantum dot technology. It composes of specialized backlight hardware accompanied by software algorithms that can control more than individual LED blocks independently.
The Quest Pro will also come packed with new Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers. They will feature three built-in sensors to track the controller's position completely independent of the headset which means that tracking and range of motion will be improved. These new controllers will also be sold separately at the cost of $299.99 and they can be used with Quest 2.
The headset is available for preorder and it will start shipping in late October on the Meta website
Windows 11 will bring some old applications in new looks and some will get additional features as well. One of the old apps that will get new stuff is a calculator.
The calculator was always a way to go application for quick calculations but Microsoft aims to expand on that and make the calculator a little more useful.
The first thing that you will notice is the calculator look, the calculator has now an application theme setting that allows you to change the look of the application. It comes in standard and professional mode as usual but this time calculator will come with features that will enable it to handle some programming and engineering tasks.
The new calculator features a full graphing mode that lets you visually analyze a graph to identify key features. It also packs a deep converter that can switch between more than 100 units and currencies.
Other Windows 11 apps
A new snipping tool will be delivered with this latest update as well packed with new functionality. We have covered new features of the snipping tool in another article, if you are interested you can find the article here: https://errortools.com/windows/new-snipping-tool-redesigned-in-windows-11/
Mail and Calendar apps will also get a redesign, sadly all redesign that they will include will be of visual nature to fit in the overall Windows 11 theme, functionality will remain the same.
In its most basic essence, Error Code 0xc00000fd appears when a program can not be initiated. It can occur when a file or program is corrupted, incompatible with the current version of the operating system, or out of date.
This error code occurs primarily in Windows but is also present in previous editions of the operating system. The symptoms of this error and the resolution methods for each of these systems are essentially resolved in the same way.
Common symptoms include:
Failure of programs to open properly, even if they were able to be opened in the past
The appearance of an error message stating that the application couldn’t be started correctly
There are several different things that Windows 10 users can do to try to fix the appearance of Error Code 0xc00000fd on their machine. Some of these methods are fairly simple for the average user, while others may require advanced knowledge and comfort with diving into the deeper tools and settings of the Windows operating system. If you have difficulty in implementing the methods below, contact a qualified Windows repair technician to assist you in the resolution of the error code.
Solution
Error Causes
Error Code 0xc00000fd can arise when program files are not recognized properly by the operating system, when the operating system is no longer compatible with the program being run, when files are missing or corrupted, or when the program has been changed in a substantial way. Each of these causes requires a different method of resolution.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Several methods can be used to attempt to resolve Error Code 0xc00000fd on your computer. Basic users can use some of these methods, while others require familiarity with advanced tools and options in Windows. If you have trouble implementing the steps below, contact a qualified professional to assist you.
Here are the top ways to deal with Error Code 0xc00000fd on your machine:
Method One: Check for Updates using the Windows Update Tool
In some cases, compatibility issues can be resolved through updates and patches available directly from Microsoft via the Windows Update tool. This is most likely the case if you have not kept up with regular updates on your machine over time.
In your settings, open up the Windows Update tool and run a scan to see if there are any required updates available for your programs or for the operating system itself. If there are updates, install them, then reboot your computer to make sure that all updates are able to be fully applied to your operating system.
Attempt to open the program that caused the error after you are finished to see if this method addressed the problem fully or if an additional method needs to be used.
Method Two: Roll Back to an Earlier Version of the Updates
Sometimes, an update can cause a compatibility issue. If you have previously been able to open the program in question without any problems, but have recently installed an update on your computer, that update may have been the source of the problem. If this is the case, roll your system back to an earlier stage of updates to see if that fixes the problem. If so, you may need to wait to reinstall the updates until Microsoft corrects the issue.
Method Three: Run Scans on Your Registry, Antivirus Software, Drivers, and Update Troubleshooters
If there truly is a corrupted or missing file within the program that you are trying to run, you can open up several tools to scan for the file that may be causing the trouble and attempt to fix it.
Run the following tools to try to fix the problems:
Windows Registry Repair Tool (this particular tool may take some time to complete)
Windows Update Troubleshooting Wizard
Windows Drivers Updates
Antivirus software or Microsoft Security Essentials
After running each of these tools, restart your computer to allow any necessary changes to be applied to your system.
If the above methods do not fix error Code 0xc00000fd on your particular device or if you do not have the confidence and knowledge to implement these steps on your own, get in touch with a Windows repair professional who can help you to resolve the problem.
Method 4: 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.
AI and neural networks are more and more being used in all parts of our lives. From face detections to deep fakes it is both amusing and frightening to watch at the same time.
From some really bad uses of neural networks and AI overall, looking at you deep fakes, upscaling videos or images are mostly harmless pieces of work not harming anyone.
There is one cool YouTube channel, well there are more but this one seems to have most of the videos on it and if I am wrong I apologize.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC33rC3GO1UZFAkMcCCwjyWg
So upscale is like previously mentioned a YouTube channel that hosts old game trailers and into videos but in full 4K or 8K video resolution, fully upscaled using neural networks.
There are some videos that are not maybe top-notch but the large quantity of them is pretty well upscaled and they do indeed look great.
So if you have some time and want that old nostalgia fix, go and check it out. You might find something that will bring that old you out and you might even drop a smile or two remembering old good days, I know I have.