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Reset Windows computer without Settings app

As you know, the Settings app is a vital part of Windows 10 as it helps in fixing issues in the system and offers users access to various Troubleshooters, as well as the Reset function and many more. So if you want to Reset this PC or a Windows Store app, you need to use the Settings app to do so. However, one of the most annoying errors you can encounter when using the Settings app is that it crashes or sometimes does not open at all. Thus, if you are having issues with this app, worry not for there are alternative ways you can try to reset your Windows 10 PC.

For you to reset your Windows 10 PC without using the Settings app, the main option you have is to use the Advanced Startup options and there are different methods by which it can be accessed. It can be accessed via Lockscreen, Command Prompt window, or via Start Menu.

Option 1 – Reset Windows 10 via Lockscreen

  • You need to first boot into the Advanced Startup options from the lock screen. If you’re already logged in to your account, you have to hit the Win + L keys to get on the lock screen.
  • Next, click on the Power button located at the bottom right corner of the screen.
  • After that, hold the Shift key and click on Restart to restart your computer into the Advanced Setup option mode. And from there, you can reset your Windows 10 computer.

Option 2 – Reset Windows 10 via Command Prompt

  • Search for “cmd” in the Cortana search box or hit the Win + R keys to open the Run box and type “cmd” in the field and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
  • If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, click Yes to proceed in opening Command Prompt.
  • After that, type the following command and hit Enter to execute it:

shutdown /r /o /f /t 00

  • After you execute the command, it will restart your computer into the Advanced Startup options where you can reset your Windows 10 computer.

Option 3 – Reset Windows 10 via Start Menu

  • Tap the Win key or click on the Start button located in the Taskbar.
  • Then click on the Power button at the bottom right portion of the screen.
  • Next, press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and then click on Restart. This will restart your Pc into the Advanced Startup options.

Note: Once you have access to the Advanced Startup options, you have to go to the setting which allows you to Reset your Windows 10 PC. All you have to do is select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC to reach the following screen

Afterward, select either the “Keep my files” option or the “Remove everything” option depending on your preference, and then proceed to the next on-screen instructions that follow to reset your Windows 10 computer.

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How to remove Fooriza from your PC

Fooriza is a browser extension for Google Chrome. This extension offers users the latest trending news from the internet. These news widgets are usually sponsored content that the application displays based on your search history or visited links. While this extension is not that dangerous on its own, it usually comes bundled with other Potentially Unwanted Programs and Browser Hijackers that could pose a security risk.

When installed this extension changes your default search engine to yahoo. And while active you might see some additional ads injected into the search results. Due to its bundled nature with other PUP-s and the potential dangers that might come with them, several anti-virus scanners have detected this extension as a Browser Hijacker and are marked for removal.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijackers (also called hijackware) are a kind of malware that alters internet browser configurations without the user’s knowledge or consent. These kinds of hijacks appear to be increasing at a worrying rate around the world, and it could be really nefarious and often dangerous too. They’re made to interfere with browser functions for many different purposes. In general, hijackers are programmed for the benefit of internet hackers often through revenue generation from forced advert clicks and site visits. However, it isn’t that harmless. Your internet safety is compromised and it is extremely irritating. Additionally, hijackers can make the whole infected system vulnerable – other destructive malware and viruses would seize these opportunities to get into your PC effortlessly.

Indications of browser hijack

Signs that your web browser is hi-jacked include: 1. your browser’s home page is suddenly different 2. you find yourself constantly directed to a different web page than the one you actually intended 3. default web engine is changed 4. you’re getting new toolbars you haven’t seen before 5. you may find numerous pop-up ads on your computer screen 6. your web browser gets sluggish, buggy, and crashes frequently 7. you are blocked to access those sites of anti-malware solution providers.

Exactly how browser hijacker finds its way to your computer

Browser hijackers infect computer systems in numerous ways, including via a file-share, a drive-by download, or an infected e-mail attachment. They are usually included with toolbars, BHO, add-ons, plug-ins, or browser extensions. Also, some freeware and shareware can put the hijacker in your PC through “bundling”. Some of the most well-known hijackers are Fooriza, Babylon Toolbar, Conduit Search, OneWebSearch, Sweet Page, and CoolWebSearch. Browser hijacking could lead to serious privacy issues and even identity theft, disrupt your web browsing experience by taking control over outbound traffic, drastically slows down your personal computer by consuming lots of resources, and cause system instability also.

Browser Hijacker Malware – Removal

Some hijackers can be simply removed by deleting the freeware they came with or by deleting any add-ons you have recently added to your system. At times, it can be a challenging task to discover and remove the malicious program since the associated file will be running as part of the operating system process. You should think of carrying out manual repairs only if you happen to be a tech-savvy person since there are potential risks associated with messing around with the computer registry and HOSTS file. Installing and running antivirus software on the affected system can automatically erase browser hijackers and other malicious applications. SafeBytes Anti-Malware detects all kinds of hijackers – such as Fooriza – and eliminates every trace quickly and efficiently.

What To Do If You Cannot Install Safebytes Anti-Malware?

Every malware is bad and the degree of the damage will vary greatly with regards to the type of infection. Some malware is designed to interfere with or prevent things that you wish to do on your personal computer. It may not allow you to download anything from the internet or prevent you from accessing some or all of the websites, in particular the antivirus websites. If you are reading this, you probably have infected by malware that prevents you from installing a computer security application like Safebytes Anti-Malware. There are a few actions you can take to get around this problem.

Get rid of malware in Safe Mode

If the malware is set to load at Windows start-up, then booting in Safe Mode should avoid it. Just minimal required programs and services are loaded when you boot your PC in Safe Mode. The following are the steps you should follow to eliminate malware in Safemode. 1) At power on, press the F8 key while the Windows splash screen starts to load. This will bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and press Enter. 3) When you are into this mode, you should have access to the internet again. Now, obtain the malware removal program you need by using the internet browser. To install the software, follow the guidelines within the installation wizard. 4) Once the software is installed, allow the diagnostic scan to run to eliminate viruses and other malware automatically.

Use an alternate web browser to download the anti-malware application

Some malware might target vulnerabilities of a specific web browser that block the downloading process. The ideal way to overcome this problem is to select an internet browser that is known for its security measures. Firefox contains built-in Malware and Phishing Protection to help keep you secure online.

Run anti-malware from your USB drive

Another option is to make a portable anti-malware program on your USB stick. Do these simple actions to clean up your affected PC using a portable antivirus. 1) On a clean PC, install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Put the USB drive into the clean PC. 3) Double-click the executable file to run the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place in which you would like to put the software files. Follow the instructions on the computer screen to finish off the installation process. 5) Disconnect the USB drive. You may now use this portable anti-virus on the affected computer. 6) Double-click the antivirus program EXE file on the pen drive. 7) Press the “Scan” button to run a full system scan and remove malware automatically.

How SafeBytes Anti-Malware Keep your Machine Virus Free

Nowadays, an anti-malware program can protect your PC from different types of internet threats. But how to decide on the best one amongst plenty of malware protection application that’s available out there? As you might be aware, there are many anti-malware companies and tools for you to consider. A few of them do a good job in removing malware threats while many will ruin your computer by themselves. When searching for an antimalware program, purchase one that gives dependable, efficient, and complete protection against all known viruses and malware. Among few good applications, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is the highly recommended program for the security-conscious individual. SafeBytes anti-malware is a very effective and easy-to-use protection tool that is designed for end-users of all levels of IT literacy. With its cutting-edge technology, this application will assist you to get rid of several types of malware including computer viruses, trojans, PUPs, worms, adware, ransomware, and browser hijackers.

SafeBytes anti-malware takes computer protection to a whole new level with its enhanced features. These are some of the great features included in the software.

Active Protection: SafeBytes provides real-time active checking and protection against all known computer viruses and malware. This utility will constantly monitor your PC for any suspicious activity and updates itself regularly to keep abreast of the latest threats. Robust, Anti-malware Protection: Using its advanced and sophisticated algorithm, this malware elimination tool can detect and remove the malware threats hiding in the computer system effectively. Extremely Speed Scanning: This application has got one of the fastest and most efficient virus scanning engines in the industry. The scans are highly accurate and take a short amount of time to complete. Web Filtering: SafeBytes checks the links present on a web page for possible threats and alerts you whether the website is safe to explore or not, through its unique safety rating system. Light-weight: SafeBytes gives total protection from online threats at a fraction of the CPU load because of its enhanced detection engine and algorithms. 24/7 Assistance: You may get high levels of support round the clock if you’re using their paid software. All in all, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is a solid program as it has lots of features and can identify and remove any potential threats. You now may understand that this particular software does more than just scan and delete threats on your computer. So if you’re trying to find a comprehensive antivirus program that’s still simple enough to use, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is just what you need!

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you want to perform the removal of Fooriza manually rather than employing an automated software tool, you may follow these steps: Go to the Windows Control Panel, click the “Add or Remove Programs” and there, choose the offending program to remove. In case of suspicious versions of browser plug-ins, you can easily remove them through your web browser’s extension manager. It is also advised to factory reset your browser to its default condition to fix corrupt settings. Finally, examine your hard disk for all of the following and clean your computer registry manually to remove leftover application entries following uninstalls. Please note that only experienced computer users should try to manually edit the system files mainly because deleting any single vital registry entry leads to a major problem or even a computer crash. Moreover, some malware keeps replicating which makes it tough to remove. Doing this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is recommended.
Files: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\nnamllomkmngnaklpijbbaokmonnkcne %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\nnamllomkmngnaklpijbbaokmonnkcne
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Disable Privacy Settings Experience at sign-in
Creating a new Windows 10 account comes with options related to privacy. For instance, you will see the options to disable or enable Speech recognition, Find my device, Location service, Inking & typing, and many more. And if you often have to create a test account in Windows 10 v1809 and you don’t want to give this option, you can just disable the Privacy Settings Experience at sign-in on your Windows 10 PC using a couple of instructions given in this guide. To disable the Privacy Settings Experience, you can use the Registry Editor and the Group Policy Editor. But before you get started, you need to log in as an administrator. Moreover, it would also be better if you create a backup copy of the Registry files as well as create a System Restore Point before you make any changes. After you have those things covered, refer to the steps given below to disable the Privacy Settings Experience at sign-in on your Windows 10 PC. Since there are two ways to get things done, choose one option that you prefer.

Option 1 – 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 path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsOOBE
  • From there, look for the OOBE value and if you can’t find it there, you can just create it. To do so, right-click on the Windows key and select New > Key, and then name it “OOBE”.
  • After that, right-click on the OOBE value and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value, and name it “DisablePrivacyExperience”.
  • Then double click on DisablePrivacyExperience and set its value to “1”.
  • Now exit the Registry Editor and restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Option 2 – via the Group Policy Editor

  • Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
  • Then type “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
  • After that, navigate to this path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OOBE
  • Next, look for a setting named “Don’t launch privacy settings experience on user login” located on your right-hand side and then double click on it and select Enabled.
  • Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
  • Restart your PC.
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Can’t remove Bluetooth mouse & keyboard
Windows 10 supports various devices to get connected to which makes it quite a flexible operating system. The connection varies on the fact that the device can be connected either with Bluetooth or other wireless and wired connection. However, no matter how great the features are, there a few times when they bring in some bugs too. One of these bugs won’t allow you to either remove or reinstall the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard device from your Windows 10 computer. So if you are currently experiencing this problem, read on as this post will guide you in fixing it. Before you go over the suggestions laid out below, you need to create a System Restore Point first since, in one of the options, you will be making some changes with the registry files as well as some critical Windows settings. Once you have that covered, refer to the following options.

Option 1 – Configure the Bluetooth Services

The first thing you can do is configure Bluetooth Services.
  • Tap the Win + R key combination to open the Run dialog box.
  • After that, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
  • You will then see a list of services and from there, look for the following services and make sure that their default values are set as follows:
    • Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service – Manual (Triggered)
    • Bluetooth Support Service – Manual (Triggered)
    • Bluetooth User Support Service – Manual (Triggered)
  • Now click on the Start button to start all the aforementioned services and then check if you can now remove or reinstall the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard device.

Option 2 – Try running the Bluetooth Troubleshooter

As you know, Windows 10 has various troubleshooters with user-friendly interfaces where you can utilize them to fix issues in your PC. And since you’re dealing with some Bluetooth problem, you have to run the Bluetooth Troubleshooter.
  • Open the Windows 10 Settings.
  • Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
  • You should find the option for Bluetooth on your right-hand side – click on it then click on the “Run the troubleshooter” option.
  • Now follow the next screen options.

Option 3 – Try to reinstall or update the Bluetooth driver

The issue might have something to do with the Bluetooth drivers. It could be that it is outdated and needs to be updated or that you recently updated it and since then you have trouble removing the Bluetooth device and so to fix the issue, you can update, roll back or uninstall the Bluetooth drivers. How? Follow the steps below.
  • Tap the Win + X keys to open the Device Manager.
  • Next, look for the Bluetooth device and right-click on it.
  • Select the option “Update driver”.
  • After that, a new popup window will appear. In there, select the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software”.
Note: Checking the update may take a few minutes so you’ll have to wait until it finishes. If it is able to find an update, you must install it.

Option 4 – Get rid of any interference

If you have several wireless devices in the same room as your PC then it might have caused interference with the current connection in your PC which is why you have to switch off all the other devices and then try removing reinstalling the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard devices again.

Option 5 – Remove or reinstall the Bluetooth devices in a Clean Boot State

You might want to uninstall or remove the Bluetooth Devices while your computer is in a Clean Boot State. Putting your computer in this state will surely help especially if there are some processes that prevent the Bluetooth devices from being removed or reinstalled.
  • Log onto your PC as an administrator.
  • Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
  • From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
  • Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
  • Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
  • Click Disable all.
  • Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
  • After that, try to reinstall or remove the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard devices again.
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Close non responsive application in Windows
We have all been there, unfortunately, the application freezes, and sometimes it can even freeze whole windows. Well if the whole Windows freezes because of the application there is not much we can do except hard reset but if only the application freezes we can still kill it and return the PC in working condition. The first thing you can try is to press ALT + F4, this shortcut is for closing the program, if the application is frozen Windows will try to close it when using this shortcut, and if it succeeds you will find yourself on the desktop environment in Windows with non-responsive application taken care of. If however, this fails and the application is not closed, try ending it in the task manager. To open task manager press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC, locate unresponsive application select it, and click on the end task button on the bottom right.
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Things that are killing your WI-FI signal

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.

wi-fi router

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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Fix LoadLibrary failed with error 1114
If you are using a couple of graphics-intensive applications like video rendering software or some games, then something in the background of the system could get messed up and you might encounter the “LoadLibrary failed with error 1114, A dynamic link library (DLL) initialization routine failed” error message. This kind of error can usually get fixed by twerking some graphic settings, fixing and updating the drivers, and allowing your PC to work by leveraging the maximum use of the resources it’s got. Thus, in this post, you will be guided on some measures you can apply to resolve this kind of error message as soon as possible. Before you go over the options given below, if you have made any changes to any software component in your computer or installed new software recently, then you might want to undo them and then check if it fixes the “LoadLibrary failed with error 1114 “ error. Once you have that covered but you’re still getting the error, use the options given below as a reference to fix the error.

Option 1 – Try to modify the Dynamic Graphics Settings

You might want to modify the Dynamic Graphics Settings in order to fix the error. To do so, follow the steps below.
  • Open Control Panel and then Power Options.
  • From there, click on the Change plan settings option for your chosen power plan.
  • After that, click on Change advanced power settings.
  • Then look for the Switchable Dynamic Graphics option and then click on it to expand it.
  • Afterward, expand the Global Settings option and then select Maximize Performance for both the “On battery” and “Plugged in” options.
  • Now click on the Apply button and then OK to save the changes made.
Note: If the Switchable Dynamic Graphics option is not available on your computer, you can try the next given option below.

Option 2 – Try switching the Graphics card to High-Performance mode

Note that this second option varies from computer to computer since most computers use the Graphics card made by NVIDIA, while some by AMD and others use Intel HD Graphics. Thus, depending on which graphics card your computer uses, pick one of the three fixes below.

NVIDIA Graphics Drivers:

If your computer uses a graphics card made by NVIDIA and has the drivers are properly installed and updated, then follow the steps below.
  • Right-click on any empty space on your desktop and then click on the NVIDIA Control Panel.
  • After that, expand the 3D Settings on the left-hand side tree-structured list and then click on Manage 3D Settings.
  • Next, select your preferred GPU on the right-side panel and then set it to the High-Performance NVIDIA Card from the drop-down menu.
  • As an alternative, you can also go to the Program Settings tab,
  • From there, select the program that you are trying to run from the drop-down menu and click on Add.
  • Now set the graphics processor to a High-performing processor and then restart your computer to apply the changes made.

AMD Graphics card:

If your computer uses a graphics card made by AMD and has the drivers are properly installed and updated, then follow the steps below.
  • Right-click on any empty space on your desktop.
  • Click on AMD Control or Configure Switchable Graphics.
  • Next, click on Browse and select the program where you encounter the error.
  • Finally, click on High Performance for the selected program and then restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Intel HD graphics:

If your computer uses the Intel HD graphics and then its drivers are properly installed and updated, then follow these steps:
  • Right-click on any empty space on your desktop and then click on the Intel Graphics Settings.
  • Next, click on the Power menu.
  • After that, select a Graphics Power Plan for both the “On battery” and “Plugged in” options to High-Performance Power Plan.
  • Then click on the Apply button and restart your computer.
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March 2021: List of data breaches & attacks
March 2021 – 21 million records breached full list of incidents:

Cyber attacks March 2021

Ransomware March 2021

Data breaches March 2021

Financial information

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Some update files aren’t signed, 0x800b0109
Windows Updates are checked for their validity every time they are downloaded from Microsoft servers just like how browsers check websites for a valid certificate. And so if you got an error message saying, “ Some update files aren’t signed correctly, error code 0x800b0109 ” while trying to update your computer, it indicates that the Windows service was unable to verify the validity of the Windows Update. To fix this error, you can try out the options prepared in this post.

Option 1 – Reboot your computer and try again

Save your work and reboot your computer and then try checking for updates again. In some cases, all you need is a restart to fix errors like error code 0x800b0109.

Option 2 – Try to update Windows after an hour or so

There are times when the issue is from Microsoft’s end. It could be that there’s some issue with Microsoft’s server so it would be better if you give it an hour or so before trying to run Windows Update again.

Option 3 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter is one of the things you can first check out as it is known to automatically resolve any Windows Update errors like Error 0x8007001E. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Option 4 – Delete the contents in the Temporary folder

You can also try deleting the contents in the Temporary folder – all the downloaded, pending, or failed Windows 10 updates. You can do that using the simple and easy steps below.
  • Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
  • Then type “%temp%” in the field and press Enter to open the Temporary folder.
  • After that, select all the folders and files within the Temp folder and delete all of them.

Option 5 – Clear the contents in the Software distribution and Catroot2 folders

  • 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 wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net 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.
After resetting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you need to reset the Catroot2 folder to restart the services you just stopped. To do that, follow these steps:
  • Type each one of the following commands.
net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver
  • After that, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer, and then try to run Windows Update once more.

Option 6 – Install the updates in a Clean Boot State

You might want to try putting your computer in a Clean Boot state and then install Windows Updates again without any trouble. During this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the issue.
  • Log onto your PC as an administrator.
  • Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
  • From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
  • Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
  • Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
  • Click Disable all.
  • Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
  • After that, try to install the Windows Updates or upgrade again.
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MS releases ISO for Windows 10 build 21354
On April 7th Microsoft has released Windows build 21354 for their flagship OS and updates are rolling. Alongside the new update builds Microsoft has decided to create and release Windows 21354 build as an installable ISO image for anyone who wishes to do a clean installation of Windows without the need to update it after the installation. We have not seen this move by Microsoft in a long time and honestly, we are welcoming it, it is always great to have updated ISO Windows build than to install the old version and sit through an hour or more of updates. If you are interested in getting this ISO image and you are part of the insider program you can download it from here. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.
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Android malware spies while posing as a Update
New malware with extensive spyware capabilities steals data from infected Android devices and is designed to automatically trigger whenever new info is read to be exfiltrated. The spyware can only be installed as a 'System Update' app available via third-party Android app stores as it was never available on Google's Play Store. This drastically limits the number of devices it can infect, given that most experienced users will most likely avoid installing it in the first place. The malware also lacks a method to infect other Android devices on its own, adding to its limited spreading capabilities. However, when it comes to stealing your data, this remote access trojan (RAT) can collect and exfiltrate an extensive array of information to its command-and-control server. Zimperium researchers who spotted it observed it while "stealing data, messages, images and taking control of Android phones."

What happens when malicious software is installed

"Once in control, hackers can record audio and phone calls, take photos, review browser history, access WhatsApp messages, and more," they added. Zimperium said its extensive range of data theft capabilities includes:
  • Stealing instant messenger messages;
  • Stealing instant messenger database files (if the root is available);
  • Inspecting the default browser's bookmarks and searches;
  • Inspecting the bookmark and search history from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Samsung Internet Browser;
  • Searching for files with specific extensions (including .pdf, .doc, .docx, and .xls, .xlsx);
  • Inspecting the clipboard data;
  • Inspecting the content of the notifications;
  • Recording audio;
  • Recording phone calls;
  • Periodically take pictures (either through the front or back cameras);
  • Listing of the installed applications;
  • Stealing images and videos;
  • Monitoring the GPS location;
  • Stealing SMS messages;
  • Stealing phone contacts;
  • Stealing call logs;
  • Exfiltrating device information (e.g., installed applications, device name, storage stats).

How does it work?

Once installed on an Android device, the malware will send several pieces of info to its Firebase command-and-control (C2) server, including storage stats, the internet connection type, and the presence of various apps such as WhatsApp. The spyware harvests data directly if it has root access or will use Accessibility Services after tricking the victims into enabling the feature on the compromised device. It will also scan the external storage for any stored or cached data, harvest it, and deliver it to the C2 servers when the user connects to a Wi-Fi network. Unlike other malware designed to steal data, this one will get triggered using Android's contentObserver and Broadcast receivers only when some conditions are met, like the addition of a new contact, new text messages, or new apps being installed. "Commands received through the Firebase messaging service initiate actions such as recording of audio from the microphone and exfiltration of data such as SMS messages," Zimperium said. "The Firebase communication is only used to issue the commands, and a dedicated C&C server is used to collect the stolen data by using a POST request."

Camouflage

The malware will also display fake "Searching for the update.." system update notifications when it receives new commands from its masters to camouflage its malicious activity. The spyware also conceals its presence on infected Android devices by hiding the icon from the drawer/menu. To further evade detection, it will only steal thumbnails of videos and images it finds, thus reducing the victims' bandwidth consumption to avoid drawing their attention to the background data exfiltration activity. Unlike other malware that harvests data in bulk, this one will also make sure that it exfiltrates only the most recent data, collecting location data created and photos taken within the last few minutes. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.
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