Windows 11 is released and its adoption goes slower than Microsoft would like but nevertheless, it is slowly getting adopted, especially among new computers. Windows 11 has brought us a new modern look of OS but if you would like to personalize it a little more you can. Follow the guide on various things that you can change inside Windows 11.
Personalize list of recently added apps, opened items, folders
The recommended section that shows recently added apps and recently open items can be turned off and hidden now to be shown. In order to do this follow these steps:
Open Windows Settings by pressing WINDOWS + I
Click on personalization in the sidebar
Click on START and go through the options
Turn OFF switch beside recently accessed files
Additionally, you can also change which folders appear on the Start menu.
Remove apps or change app order on the Start Menu
To remove application not to be shown in the Start menu at all follow this simple guide:
Right-click on app
Choose unpin
To place the application on Start click on All Apps, right-click on the app and choose Pin to Start
To drag and rearrange apps, simply click on them and drag them to the new place.
Change the Start Menu location
When Windows 11 was first released Start Menu could only be located in the middle of the screen but thanks to plenty of backlash from users now it is possible to move it on a more traditional left side.
Press WINDOWS + I to open the settings app
Click on Personalization
Look for taskbar behaviors
Inside taskbar behaviors look for Taskbar alignment
Change alignment to left
Change the Start Menu color
In order to change the color of the Start Menu follow the next steps:
Open Settings app
Go to personalization settings
Go to Colors
Switch to custom
Under accent color pick a color you like or make your custom one.
HDMI which stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface is an audio/video interface that can be used to interconnect various multimedia devices. One of the common use for HDMI is when a CPU is connected to a monitor and a projector. Aside from that, it can also be used in connecting Blu-ray players and laptops to televisions as well as monitors.
One of the main advantages of using HDMI is that it can transmit both audio and video at high qualities such as 4K using only a single connection. However, you may also experience some issues in using it every now and then and one of them is when you find that after connecting the devices using the HDMI port, the screen appears to be black and there is no audio output. In such cases, there are a variety of hardware malfunctions that could be causing the problem with the HDMI connectivity. Although there a lot of potential causes, there are also potential fixes you can try to fix the problem.
Before you troubleshoot the HDMI Port problem, you might want to perform System Restore first as it might help you in fixing the problem. It could be that you’ve made some changes in some of the settings in your computer that triggered the problem. Thus, you can try run System Restore to undo them, refer to these steps:
First, press 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 Stop error is fixed or not.
If the problem still persists after System Restore, then follow the given options below to further troubleshoot the problem.
Option 1 – Try to physically check the hardware of your computer
The first thing you can do is to check the physical status of the hardware in your computer. You can clean the dust off the hardware components like the Network Card or Graphics Card of the computer. You might want to use a small blower or you could also use a soft cloth and run the components gently. Make sure that you don’t damage any parts with moisture or cause harm to any circuits while you carry out this task.
Option 2 – Run the Video Playback troubleshooter
You might also want to run the Video Playback troubleshooter. To do so, refer to these steps:
First, open the Windows settings app.
Then navigate to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
From there, scroll down until you see the Video Playback section and click on it.
After that, you’ll see the Run the troubleshooter button, click on it to run the Video Playback troubleshooter, and follow the next on-screen instructions.
On other hand, you can also run the Hardware and Device troubleshooter if the Video Playback troubleshooter wasn’t able to fix the problem. You can run it from the same page that you run the Video Playback troubleshooter.
Option 3 – Try to rollback, update, or disable the Graphics card drivers
To fix the problem with the HDMI port, you can either roll back, update or disable them depending on your preference in order to resolve the problem.
First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. From there, look for the Display Adapters and click on them.
After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters. Note that the rollback option is only available if the update was recent. So if it isn’t there, just click on the Update Driver option.
From there, Windows will automatically check for problems and update the Graphics card drivers.
Now restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.
Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it.
Option 4 – Try to reset the Monitor
You could also try resetting the monitor or television using its hardware keys and see if it can resolve the problem. You can just refer to your TV or monitor’s guide for more information on how to reset them.
Option 5 – Try some miscellaneous fixes
Apart from the four given options above, you can also check out some miscellaneous fixes to fix the HDMI connectivity issue and here they are:
You can try to plug out the HDMI cord/cable from both source and destination and then plug it back in after a couple of minutes.
You can also check if the HDMI cable you are using is still in working condition.
You can also try to change the source and the destination of the video and see if either one of them is in a non-workable state.
Try checking if your settings are how they should be as intended in the “Project my screen” option by tapping the Win + P key combination on your keyboard.
Error 0x80070002 shows once you’re done backing up files through the Windows Backup program on a system running Windows 7, you see a notification that pops up with a message that reads something like:
“Check your backup results. The backup completed but some files were skipped.”
You try finding out the reason and you hover over to the Options button beside the message, then you get to read the following lines:
“Check your backup results. The backup completed but some files were skipped. View skipped files.”
Upon clicking the “View Skipped Files” option, the backup error 0x80070002 pops up on your screen and you’re left scratching your head, wondering what you’re going to do now.
Solution
Error Causes
There are multiple error logs that you will encounter in backup error 0x80070002 as per different conditions. The two most common cases in which this error shows up are stated below:
Case 1
You will see the following message when you press “View skipped files”:
“Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C: Windows/System32/config/systemprofile. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))”
You will face this case if you have backed up a library that included custom folders that were located in your user profile.
Case 2
Upon pressing “View Skipped files” you will encounter the below-mentioned messages:
“Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:/Users<User>AppDataLocalLow. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))”
“Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:/Users<User>Contacts. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))”
“Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:/Users<User>Searches. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))”
You are likely to encounter any of these messages in case:
The Windows Backup program is trying to back up your files in either one or all of these folders (LocalLow, Searches, Contacts).
All three of these folders don’t exist in your system.
Keep in mind that all three of these folders exist due to the installation of certain programs and applications on your system.
Notes
The backup error 0x80070002 is also found to occur while using USB devices instead of storage devices. Other occurrences include the times when input/output (I/O) operations are performed on the USB device, which results in failure.
Further Information and Manual Repair
To make sure this issue is resolved, you will have to follow either one of the following solutions as appropriate to your situation:
Solution for Case 1
Ignore the error. The store files of the custom library in your user profile will not be created as backups.
Transfer the library folder from where it currently exists to a place outside its current folder (user profile). For instance, you can move the library folder to an entirely new destination such as “C: My Folders”
Remove the library folder from the list of files that you are backing up using the Windows Backup program. Then, add the original place of the library’s content in the list.
Go back and check step two. If carried out successfully then add a link to the folder you moved from the library. Check to see if the backup includes the library folder. To make sure, you have to do as follows:
Go to Start and select your username.
Hover across to the folder you wish to move, right-click on it and select “Cut”.
Head to the navigation pane and search for the area you will store the folder in, right-click and select “Paste” so that the folder is moved to that location.
Right-click on the folder that you just moved and select “Copy”.
Go back to Start, select your username, right-click any vacant space in your folder and select “Paste Shortcut”.
Note: If you want to store the folder in a different place other than the folder in which it currently exists (user profile), you will need to create a new folder. In order to do so, go to the Windows Explorer menu and look up the root of the drive.
Hit “New Folder” and then choose edit to change its name. You can set it as any name for instance, “My Folders”.
Solution for Case 2
You can ignore this error safely. However, if you wish not to see this error in the future during your backup operations then you will need to carry out the following steps:
Create all the folders listed in the error message including LocalLow, Contacts, and Searches.
Remove all of these folders from the Backup settings to make sure they aren’t being backed up then add the folders which are in their original place. To carry out this procedure, you will have to follow the below-mentioned steps:
Head over to the Control Panel and open “Backup & Restore”.
Go to the Backup section and select “Change Settings”.
Click Next in the Setup backup dialog box.
Select “Let me choose” in the dialog box termed “What do you want to back up” then proceed by clicking Next.
Expand Data Files, expand <user> Libraries, expand Additional Locations then proceed by clearing out the AppData Folder, searches, and Contacts checkboxes.
Expand Computer as well as the item for your system drive (expand Local Disk (D:)), expand users, expand <user>, then go to AppData, Searches and Contacts and mark them if they are present.
Proceed by clicking next and select “Save Settings” then exit.
Back to Backup & Restore, select Back up now and your new backup will begin proceeding. The entire process will be complete without any errors now.
Whether you’re using Windows Update or upgrading or installing on your Windows 10 computer, you can’t really tell if things will go smoothly as there are times when you might encounter some issues that prevent you from completing the update or upgrade or the installation. One of the errors you can encounter is error 0x80070057. Usually, when you receive this error, it means that one or more arguments are not valid. You can encounter this error in the following cases:
Windows Update, Upgrade, or Installation
Windows Backup, The parameter is incorrect
Partitioning a Disk
System Image Restore error 0x80070057
Downloading Windows Store apps
Keep in mind that the troubleshooting steps you need to take will depend on the scenarios you are in. Thus, you need to go over each one of the troubleshooting options given below and make sure to carefully follow each one of them but before you proceed, you have to create a System Restore Point first.
Option 1 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
The first thing you can do to fix error 0x80070057 is by running the Windows Update Troubleshooter. It is a built-in tool in Windows that helps users resolve any issues with Windows Update. All you need to do to run it is go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button.
Option 2 – Use the Registry Editor
If you get the error 0x80070057 during Windows Backup, then you need to make some modifications to the Windows Registry. To do so, follow these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftSystem
Then create a new DWORD value and input “CopyFileBufferedSynchronousIo” as its name and put “1” as its value.
Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer then check if the error is fixed or not.
Option 3 – Run the DISM tool
Running the DISM Tool helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.
Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.
Note: If it happens that the Windows Update client is broken, you need to run the following command to repair it then restart your PC and click on Update once again.
Option 4 – Flush the contents of the SoftwareDistribution folder
You have to stop a couple of services such as BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer, and Windows Update Services. And to do that, you need to flush the contents in the SoftwareDistribution folder. The Software Distribution folder in the Windows operating system is a folder that can be found in the Windows directory and is used to store files temporarily which might be required to install the Windows Update on your PC. Thus, it is required by the Windows Update and maintained by WUAgent. Aside from that, it also contains all the Windows Update History files and once you delete them, you will most likely lose the Update history. As a result, the next time you run the Windows Update, it may result in a longer detection time.
Open the WinX Menu.
From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.
net stop wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic, and the MSI Installer
Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.
Option 5 – Reset Windows Store Cache
Right-click on the start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator).
Next, type in the command, “wsreset.exe” and tap Enter. Once you do, the command will clear the cache for the Windows Store app.
Option 6 – Run SFC scan
Running the SFC scan or System File Checker might also help in fixing error 0x80070057.
Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
0x800ccc7d is an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) error message code that occurs in applications like Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. The error message is displayed as: ‘ unknown error 0x800ccc7d- secure sockets layer ’.
Many offices use Microsoft Outlook for email communication and sending instant messages within the office. This is a highly functional application that enables users to interact with peers efficiently, manage contacts, journals, and reminders.
However, the error 0x800ccc7d may hamper your ability to send and receive emails efficiently. Therefore it is advisable to repair it right away.
Solution
Error Causes
The error 0x800ccc7d is triggered by the following causes:
Damaged profile in Outlook
Incorrect email account settings
The Outlook installation is corrupt and damaged. This usually happens due to issues in hard disk storage.
The outgoing SMTP server does not support secure connections
Further Information and Manual Repair
If you come across 0800ccc7d error code while using Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, then don’t you worry! This problem can be easily resolved. In fact, it is so easy to repair that you can do it by yourself even if you are not a technical expert.
Here are some ways to fix the 0800ccc7d SSL Outlook error:
Solution 1: Use Scanpst.exe
You may not know this but Microsoft offers an inbuilt Outlook Repair tool. This tool is technically known as Scanpst.exe. This tool is useful when you need to repair Basic header corruption. However, it may not be the best choice if the problem is big and complex.
Solution 2: Reset Your Outlook Settings
Sometimes this error message may occur when the STMP server requires authentication or does not recognize the senders' email addresses. In this scenario, you should check your Outlook settings to make sure that your STMP username and server are correct. For this follow this procedure:
Go to the Tools menu and then click on Accounts
Now click on your email account then check its properties
Click general and make sure that your email address is created in your account’s control panel. If not, then edit and create.
Next, click servers and see if the box next to the option that says My server requires authentication is checked or not. If not, then check it to resolve the error.
Solution 3: Disable any Anti-Virus
Another alternative to resolve this error is to disable any Anti-virus or Firewall you have installed on your PC. Once you disable it then try sending or receiving the email again. This usually works.
Solution 4: Download 0x800ccc7d Repair Tool
The fourth solution available to resolve this issue is by downloading the 0x800ccc7d repair tool. Though it is similar to Microsoft Outlook built-in scanpst.exe tool, but as compared to it the 0x800ccc7d repair tool is a highly functional tool.
There are many 0x800ccc7d repair tools available but we recommend you to Restoro.
This tool is a third-party tool that can deal, scan, and fix 0x800cc7d error in no time. What makes this repair tool an excellent choice is that it can repair all broken PST files and emails, recover Outlook items, retrieve deleted files, recover password-protected data, split files to recover oversize PST files, and more.
To access and install the 0x800ccc7d repair tool all you need to do is download it here and install it on your PC. Now run it to scan errors. Once the errors are scanned, hit the repair tab to resolve.
So, next time when you experience the error 0x800ccc7d, try using these solutions to fix the problem right away!
In case you don’t know, Windows 10 now allows users to check the Bluetooth battery level of devices. More often than not, the accessories or peripherals users use for their Windows 10 devices are connected to it using Bluetooth technology. This high-speed low-powered wireless technology is designed to link mobile devices, computers, and other network devices over a short distance wirelessly.
Monitoring the battery level of a device where Bluetooth is enabled isn’t an easy task as most of these devices do not support the Bluetooth battery monitor or the battery level display. And even when on devices that do, you still have to install additional software to find it. However, Windows 10 eliminates this requirement and all you have to do is add a Bluetooth device and connect that Bluetooth device. How? Follow the instructions provided below.
Step 1: Adding a Bluetooth Device
The easiest way to get your Bluetooth device battery to be displayed on your Windows 10 screen is to simply add a Bluetooth device. To do so, follow these sub-steps:
First, turn on the Bluetooth mode on your device.
Next, go to Windows Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.
From there, click on the “+” button next to the ‘Add Bluetooth or other devices” option and select the type of device you want to add.
Step 2: Connecting the Bluetooth Device
Once you’ve added the device, it will be visible under the “Add a device” screen.
Now select the newly added Bluetooth device and click the “Done” button.
After that, it will now be connected. Go back to the “Bluetooth & other devices” window and scroll down to the section of “Mouse, Keyboard, and Pen”.
From there, move the cursor alongside the connected device to display its battery level.
Keep in mind that there are several ways in which you can display the battery information of the Bluetooth device. However, Windows 10 understands only one of them per se. So if your device is not a Bluetooth Low Energy device, Windows 10 won’t be able to show its battery information and won’t display its battery level.
As of late, many users reported getting an error in Windows Sandbox that has an error code of 0x80070015. According to users, they encountered this error when they tried to start Windows Sandbox. Based on the error code, it seems that there are some problems with the supporting services of Windows Sandbox that trigger the error. It is possible that these services are misconfigured or that they are outdated and have to be updated. Here’s the complete message of the error:
“Windows Sandbox failed to start. Error 0x80070015. The device is not ready. Would you like to submit feedback about this issue?”
If you are one of the users who encountered this kind of error in Windows Sandbox, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will help you sort this problem out. All you have to do is follow each one of the options provided below.
Option 1 – Make sure that all the supporting processes and services of Windows Sandbox are running properly
If running Windows Sandbox as an administrator didn’t fix the error, you have to ensure that all related processes for Windows Sandbox are running properly. To do that, follow these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
Next, from the list of services, look for the following services in the given order:
After you find the aforementioned services, restart each one of them.
Once done, try to open the Windows Sandbox again and see if the error is fixed or not.
Option 2 – Try to install any pending Windows Updates
If the second option still didn’t work, then you might want to check Windows Updates on your computer and see if there are any pending Windows Updates you have to install. All you have to do is go to the Windows 10 Settings app and then go to the Windows Updates section and click on the “Check for updates” button to check if there are any pending updates that are needed to be installed. This could fix the Windows Sandbox Error 0x80070015.
Option 3 – Try to run Windows Sandbox as an admin
In the Start Menu, scroll down until you see the entry for the Windows Sandbox.
Then right-click on it and select More and then select the “Run as administrator” option to open it with admin privileges.
Next, if a User Account Control or UAC prompt pops up, just click on Yes to proceed.
You should now be able to open the Windows Sandbox without the error. However, if the error persists, proceed to the next given option below.
If you encounter a Blue Screen error that points to the Wdf01000.sys file, then this post might be of help. Wdf01000.sys is a file related to the Windows Driver Framework which is the one that manages the system drivers. So if this file ends up being corrupted, the drivers would start to cause trouble in the system which would lead to a Blue Screen of Death error eventually. There are lots of error descriptions that are associated with the Wdf01000.sys file such as:
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
System_Thread_Exception_Not_Handled
Page_Fault_In_Nonpaged_Area
System_Service_Exception
Kmode_Exception_Not_Handled
DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION
Although the troubleshooting steps you must take depends on the kind of BSOD error you are getting, there are a couple of options you can try to resolve the Blue Screen errors related to the Wdf01000.sys file. Refer to the options given below.
Option 1 – Try running the DISM tool
You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the Wdf01000.sys Blue Screen error. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.
Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.
Option 2 – Try to update or rollback your device drivers
If the first option didn’t work for you, then it’s time to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.
Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.
Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.
Option 3 – Use the Driver Verifier Manager
The Driver Verifier Manager is another tool in Windows that could help you fix driver-related issues. And so if you want to fix the Wdf01000.sys Blue Screen error, you need to use the Driver Verifier Manager:
Type in the keyword “Verifier” in the Cortana search box to search for Verifier in Windows 10.
After that, select the option “Create custom settings”.
Make sure that you have checked everything except the options “DDI compliance checking” and “Randomized low resources simulation”.
Next, select the option “Select driver names from a list” option.
Afterward, you have to select all the drivers from any unofficial or third-party provider. To simply put it, you have to select all the drivers that are not supplied by Microsoft.
Then click on the Finish button.
Open Command Prompt as administrator and execute this command – verifier /querysettings
The command you just executed will display the Driver Verifier settings so if you see any of the flags enabled boot your Windows 10 PC into Safe Mode.
Open the Command Prompt as admin again and run this command – verifier /reset
The command will reset the Driver Verifier. Once the process is done, restart your PC and check.
Option 4 – Run the System File Checker Scan
System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Reboot your computer.
Option 5 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter
The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like Wdf01000.sys. It can be found on the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:
Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.
DuckDuckGo has risen in the public eye as a private search engine offering searches without tracking. A less known fact about DuckDuckGo is that they have their own browser, well they have it for the Android platform and it was stated that it is coming for desktops soon.
People were excited for this new browser for a few reasons, one of them being privacy and another that it is built from scratch, not using existing chromium runtime that assured users that privacy is the main focus. Still, lately, things got a little out of control. Duckduckgo is under fire from users since a security researcher has discovered that there is an exception for Microsoft trackers inside Browser.
The main feature of their browser is that it blocks tracking scripts and most online advertising with the goal of preventing servers from collecting data about your online behavior. Of course, tracking protection is never 100% effective since it requires a lot of manual labor from people to add sites and links to blocklists but it was discovered that DuckDuckGo has a defined exception in the browser for Microsoft owned ad networks and tracking scripts giving them free pass even when they are related to privacy compromisation.
Zach Edwards first pointed out the exception in a series of tweets, after noticing DuckDuckGo on iPhone and Android wasn’t blocking LinkedIn and Bing advertisements on Facebook’s Workplace site.
You can capture data within the DuckDuckGo so-called private browser on a website like Facebook's https://t.co/u8W44qvsqF and you'll see that DDG does NOT stop data flows to Microsoft's Linkedin domains or their Bing advertising domains.
DuckDuckGo’s CEO and founder, Gabriel Weinberg, replied with his own series of tweets.
Most of our other protections also apply to MSFT-owned properties as well. This is just about non-DuckDuckGo and non-Microsoft sites, where our search syndication agreement prevents us from stopping Microsoft-owned scripts from loading, though we can still apply protections post-load (like 3rd party cookie blocking). We are also working to change that.
DuckDuckGo says it uses over 400 sources for search engine results, including the company’s own web crawler, but typical link results are sourced most commonly from Bing. According to Weinberg, DuckDuckGo’s ability to use Bing search results depends on a carved-out exception for Microsoft’s ads in the mobile browser. A representative from DuckDuckGo told that third-party cookies from Microsoft services are still blocked.
Of course, the main aim and campaign of DUckDuckGo's rise was private search and private browsing so this kind of news did not go well among long supporters. The latest statement from them is as follows:
We have always been extremely careful to never promise anonymity when browsing, because that frankly isn’t possible given how quickly trackers change how they work to evade protections and the tools we currently offer. When most other browsers on the market talk about tracking protection, they are usually referring to 3rd-party cookie protection and fingerprinting protection, and our browsers for iOS, Android, and our new Mac beta, impose these restrictions on third-party tracking scripts, including those from Microsoft.
What we’re talking about here is an above-and-beyond protection that most browsers don’t even attempt to do — that is, blocking third-party tracking scripts before they load on 3rd party websites. Because we’re doing this where we can, users are still getting significantly more privacy protection with DuckDuckGo than they would using Safari, Firefox and other browsers. This blog post we published gets into the real benefits users enjoy from this approach, like faster load times (46% average decrease) and less data transferred (34% average decrease). Our goal has always been to provide the most privacy we can in one download, by default without any complicated settings.
In this post, you will be guided on how to import and export the WSL distros in your Windows 10 computer. WSL, also known as Windows Subsystem for Linux, is a compatibility layer needed to run Linux binary executable in Windows 10, as well as the Windows Server 2019.
In case you don’t know, when you reinstall or reset Windows 10, all of its configuration data stored with the WSL distros gets deleted. Going back or restoring the configuration can be quite challenging but worry not for Microsoft has already got this covered as you can now import and export the WSL or Windows Subsystem for Linux distros.
There are three aspects that you have to deal with when you import or export WSL distros in your Windows 10 computer, such as importing WSL distro, exporting WSL distro, and uninstalling the imported WSL distros.
Before you proceed to the instructions provided below, make sure that all your installed distros are updated via Microsoft Store. Once you have this covered, follow the options below.
Option 1 – Import the WSL distro
Type “command prompt” in the Start Search and from the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and then select the “Run as administrator” option.
After opening Command Prompt as admin, execute this command: wsl --list –all
The command you entered will list all the installed WSL distros on your computer. And now it’s time for you to import a WSL distro by executing this command: wsl --import <Name of the distro> <Fill path to save the backup .tar file>
Note: In the given command above, replace “<Name of the distro>” with the name of the distro you want to import and replace “<Fill the path to save the backup .tar file>” with the location where you want to save the .tar file.
Option 2 – Export the WSL distro
Type “command prompt” in the Start Search and from the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and then select the “Run as administrator” option.
After opening Command Prompt as admin, execute this command to see the list of all the installed WSL distros in your computer: wsl --list –all
After that, execute this command to export a WSL distro: wsl --export <Name of the distro> <Fill path to save the backup .tar file>
Option 3 – Uninstall the imported WSL distro
Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
Next, execute this command to view the list of all the installed WSL distros: wsl --list –all
After that, execute this command to uninstall an imported WSL distro: wsl --unregister <Name of the distro>
Once it’s done, close Command Prompt and restart your computer.
A surprisingly large amount of things present at your home can and do interfere with your wi-fi signal making it weak so devices are dropping it, having trouble connecting, or being slow.
Hello and welcome to our latest article where we will take a look at all things that are present in a lot of homes but are very bad for your WI-Fi signal.
Bad router placement
Having a router in a bad position can have some really large effects on WI-Fi signal strength and its availability. Usually, we do not give great attention to where we are placing our router but it has been proved over and over again that being close to certain objects does indeed have a great influence on the wireless signal strength and performance.
So, what are these objects and bad positions where we could place the router and effectively kill his Wi-Fi capabilities?
Fish Tanks
Water will block all radio waves including Wi-FI signals and waves themselves, so having a router next to the aquarium or any large source of water is a bad idea. You should always look at water as something bad for your Wi-Fi and move your router away from it as far as possible.
Bookshelves
Paper is another story and example of the dampening effect on radio waves. Did you know that various patterns of paper are used in silent rooms and recording studios in order to eliminate sound reflection from surfaces? Well besides absorbing sound waves, the paper also absorbs Wi-Fi signals and if you have a large bookshelf with a lot of books packed one beside another you just have a great wall of signal absorbing.
Mirrors
The problem with mirrors is in their coating that goes over the glass in order to turn it into the mirror, that coating is metal and as such, it is absorbing signals in large amounts. If you have an old or high-quality mirror that has a silver coating things are even worse since silver will absorb even more waves than modern cheap ones.
TV
Yup, TV is also on this list and for a similar reason as a mirror, although TV does not have coatings of metal, they have something even worse: a large metal plating on the back. Metal plating is there to produce structural integrity of the TV set and provide it with shielding from electromagnetic waves and as such it will prevent Wi-Fi waves as well. Do not place the router behind your TV.
Things that influence signals in homes
Any kind of metal decoration
Now when we covered mirrors and TV because of the metal they have, we must take a look at the metal itself. Any kind of metal stuff that you might have like baskets, figures, statues, frames, etc will effectively block your signal.
Kitchen appliances and Home utilities
Kitchen appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, ovens, stoves, etc. along with home appliances and utilities like dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, etc are large metal objects enclosed in a metal cage that will block signals from spreading further and it is no secret that most kitchens have weaker Wi-Fi because of this reason.
Home gyms
This is a logical conclusion as to everything explained so far if you have a workout room or small gym at home it is probably filled with weights that are metal and have mirrors inside, all of that will interfere and block signals.
Things blocking your Wi-Fi that you have no easy control over
Walls
Thick walls will dampen signals, thick walls from bricks will dampen even more and concrete walls will kill it almost completely. Any kind of metal reinforcement wiring inside walls will reduce and kill signals as well.
Floors and ceiling
This is somewhat important if you have a floor beneath or under the room where is your router located, but for the same reason how walls are blocking your signal floor and ceiling can do it as well, especially since most of the time they are made of some stronger material like concrete with metal fence inside.
Heating systems
If you have a heating system that is composed of metal radiators with water inside, then in terms of Wi-Fi signal strength you have an aquarium but in a metal box, and as such it will greatly reduce signal strength.
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