PowerShell script Error 0xFFFD0000 in Windows

DiscoverAncestry is a Browser Extension for Google Chrome developed by Mindspark Inc that presents itself as a web tool to discover the origins or meanings of particular family names. When installed this extension changes your default new tab page to search by MyWay, as well as your default search engine to Search.MyWay.com

While active, DiscoverAncestry logs user browsing information, recording clicked links, visited websites and viewed products. This information is later used to better target personal ads. Browsing the internet with this extension active will result in injection of additional ads, sponsored content and even pop-up ads throughout the browsing sessions.

DiscoverAncestry is usually found bundled with other potentially unwanted software, this combined alongside its aggressive ad injection is why DiscoverAncestry has been marked as a Browser Hijacker, and it is recommended to remove it from your computer.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is regarded as the web’s constant risks that target web browsers. It’s a type of malware program that redirects web browser requests to other suspicious websites. Basically, most browser hijackers are made for advertising or marketing purposes. It redirects you to the sponsored websites and inserts adverts on your internet browser which helps its developer generate income. It might seem naive, but the majority of such websites aren’t legitimate and can pose a significant risk to your on-line safety. In a much worst case, your internet browser could be hi-jacked to download malware that will do a lot of damage to your computer.

Browser hijacking signs and symptoms

There are several symptoms that could indicate a browser hijacking: 1. your homepage is reset to some unknown site 2. bookmark and the new tab are also changed 3. default online search engine is modified 4. you’re getting browser toolbars you haven’t witnessed before 5. you will find random pop-ups start showing regularly 6. your internet browser has instability issues or exhibits frequent errors 7. you are blocked to access the websites of antivirus solution providers.

How does a computer get infected with a browser hijacker?

Browser hijackers can get into a computer by some means or other, for instance via file sharing, downloads, and email also. Many web browser hijackings originate from add-on applications, i.e., toolbars, browser helper objects (BHO), or extensions added to web browsers to give them extra features. A browser hijacker may also come bundled-up with some free application that you inadvertently download and install, compromising your PC security. Common examples of browser hijackers include CoolWebSearch, Conduit, Coupon Server, OneWebSearch, RocketTab, Snap.do, Delta Search, and Searchult.com. Browser hijackers may record user keystrokes to gather potentially valuable information leading to privacy issues, cause instability on systems, drastically disrupt user’s browsing experience, and eventually slow down the computer to a stage where it becomes unusable.

Removal

Some browser hijacking can be simply reversed by discovering and eliminating the corresponding malware software through your control panel. However, many hijackers are really tenacious and need specialized applications to remove them. Also, manual removals demand deep system understanding and thus can be quite a difficult task for novices. Professionals always suggest users eliminate any malicious software including browser hijackers by using an automatic malware removal tool, which is easier, safer, and faster than the manual removal procedure. To remove any kind of browser hijacker from your laptop or computer, you should download the following certified malware removal tool – SafeBytes Anti-Malware. Along with anti-virus software, a system optimizer tool, similar to Total System Care, will help you repair Windows registry errors, get rid of unwanted toolbars, secure your online privacy, and stabilize programs installed on your computer.

Learn How to Get rid of Malware that is Blocking Websites or Preventing Downloads

Viruses may cause a lot of damage to your computer. Some malware sits in between your PC and the internet connection and blocks some or all internet sites that you really want to visit. It will also prevent you from adding anything to your PC, particularly antivirus applications. If you’re reading this article, you probably have affected by a virus that prevents you from downloading a security program like Safebytes Antimalware on your PC. There are some actions you can take to circumvent this issue.

Install anti-malware in Safe Mode with Networking

In the event the malware is set to run at Windows start-up, then booting in safe mode should avoid it. Just bare minimum required programs and services are loaded when you boot your PC in Safe Mode. Here are the steps you need to follow to start into the Safe Mode of your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers (check out the Microsoft website for instructions on Windows 8 and 10 computers). 1) At power on, press the F8 key while the Windows splash screen begins to load. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking using arrow keys and hit Enter. 3) Once you get into this mode, you will have an internet connection again. Now, obtain the malware removal program you need by utilizing the web browser. To install the program, follow the directions within the setup wizard. 4) Right after installation, do a complete scan and allow the software eliminate the threats it finds.

Utilize an alternate browser to download antivirus software

Some malware only targets certain browsers. If this sounds like your situation, utilize another internet browser as it can circumvent the malware. The ideal way to avoid this problem is to opt for a internet browser that is known for their security features. Firefox contains built-in Phishing and Malware Protection to keep you safe online. Create a portable USB antivirus for removing viruses Another method is to download and transfer an anti-malware application from a clean PC to run a virus scan on the infected computer. To run antivirus using a USB drive, follow these simple measures: 1) Make use of another virus-free computer system to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Plug the USB drive into the clean computer. 3) Double-click the executable file to open the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place where you want to store the software files. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation. 5) Transfer the flash drive from the clean computer to the infected computer. 6) Double-click the anti-malware software EXE file on the pen drive. 7) Run Full System Scan to identify and clean-up up all sorts of malware.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware: Lightweight Malware Protection for Windows Computer

If you are looking to purchase anti-malware for your desktop, there are numerous brands and packages for you to consider. A few are well worth your money, but most aren’t. When looking for an antivirus tool, select one which provides dependable, efficient, and comprehensive protection against all known computer viruses and malware. On the list of highly recommended applications by industry leaders is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, well-known security software for Windows computers. SafeBytes is a powerful, real-time anti-spyware application that is made to assist everyday computer users in safeguarding their computers from malicious threats. Once you’ve got installed this software, SafeBytes advanced protection system will make sure that absolutely no viruses or malicious software can seep through your PC.

There are lots of amazing features you’ll get with this security product. The following are some typical features present in this software program:

Active Protection: Malware programs aiming to get into the system are discovered and stopped as and when detected by the SafeBytes real-time protection shields. This utility will always keep track of your computer for any suspicious activity and updates itself continuously to keep current with the latest threats. World-class AntiMalware Protection: Built upon a highly acclaimed antivirus engine, this malware removal tool can find and get rid of various obstinate malware threats such as browser hijackers, PUPs, and ransomware that other typical anti-virus applications will miss. Fast Multi-threaded Scanning: SafeBytes’s virus scan engine is one of the fastest and most efficient within the industry. It's targeted scanning tremendously increases the catch rate for viruses which is embedded in various computer files. Web Protection: SafeBytes provides instant safety rating about the webpages you’re about to visit, automatically blocking dangerous sites and to make sure that you’re certain of your online safety while browsing the net. Lightweight Utility: This software is lightweight and will work silently in the background, and will not impact your PC efficiency. 24/7 Customer Service: You can obtain totally free 24/7 technical support from their IT experts on any product queries or computer security issues. SafeBytes has created a wonderful anti-malware solution to help you conquer the latest computer threats and virus attacks. Now you may realize that this particular software does more than just scan and eliminate threats from your computer. So if you are searching for the best anti-malware subscription for your Windows-based computer, we strongly recommend SafeBytes Anti-Malware software.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you don’t want to use an automated tool and prefer to eliminate DiscoverAncestry manually, you might do so by going to the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu in the control panel and deleting the offending software; in cases of web browser plug-ins, you can remove it by visiting the browsers Add-on/Extension manager. You might even want to reset your web browser settings, and also delete temporary files, browsing history, and cookies. To ensure complete removal, manually check your hard disk and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Please remember that this is for skilled users only and may be challenging, with wrong file removal leading to additional system errors. Furthermore, certain malware keeps replicating which makes it tough to eliminate. You are suggested to do this process in Windows Safe Mode.

A lot of users lately reported getting an error that says, “The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect”. This kind of error can pop up when you try to open a number of programs, regardless of their origin, the developer, and compatibility. Here’s the full context of the error message:

“<PATH OF THE EXECUTABLE FILE>, This application has failed to start because its side-by0side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail”.

This kind of problem has something to do with the C++ runtime package in the background. It could also be related to an error for a registry value. Whatever the cause is, you can fix this error with the help of some suggestions provided in this post. You can try to reinstall the application or check the registry setting or reinstall the suitable Visual C++ Runtimes or re-enable the Microsoft .NET Framework. For more details, refer to the instructions given below.

Option 1 – Try to reinstall the application

There are times when some supporting module for your application under the hood could have messed up the application. And so to fix that, you need to uninstall the concerned application and then try reinstalling it again. Once you’re done, check if it fixed the problem or not.

Option 2 – Try to change the Registry setting

• Tap the Win + R key combination to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the fields and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry key: Computer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows NT CurrentVersion SideBySide Winners x86_policy.9.0.microsoft.vc90.crt_1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b_none_02d0010672fd8219 9.0
• From there, look for a String value named “default” and double click on it.
• After that, change its Value data to match the one as the third value in BINARY.
• Now restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 3 – Try reinstalling the appropriate Visual C++ Runtime

• You need to open the Event Viewer first by searching for it in the Windows Search box.
• After opening Event Viewer, look for the error events that are sourced by SideBySide.
• Next, look for the actual Visual C++ Runtime module that’s causing the error.
• Now download the module from the official website of Microsoft Support and then install it and see if it fixed the problem.

Option 4 – Re-enable the Microsoft .NET Framework

You could also try to disable the Microsoft .NET Framework then enable the latest version of the .NET Framework on your PC and check if the error is fixed.

One of the selling points of Windows 11 was the ability to run Android apps natively in it without the need for any third-party software. It is not a big surprise that even after its release Microsoft is evolving and expanding Windows 11 and its features.

Microsoft is now rolling out an update for the Windows Subsystem for Android on the Dev Channel of the Windows Insiders program. The new version upgrades the core operating system from Android 11 to Android 12.1 (also known as Android 12L), which means the new system and app features in Android 12 and 12.1 are now available on Windows for the first time. However, not the new features in those updates apply to the modified version that runs on top of Windows. For example, one of the main improvements in 12.1 was a dual-pane notification panel for larger screens, but Android app notifications on Windows just show up in the Windows notification panel.

The upgrade also improves how Android apps integrate into Windows. The Windows taskbar will now show which Android apps are currently using the microphone, location, and other system services — similar to many native Windows applications. Toasts messages (the small popups that some apps use for temporary messages) are now displayed as Windows notifications, and the titlebar on Android apps will use the current activity name for the title.

Full changelog

• Windows Subsystem for Android updated to Android 12.1
• Advanced networking on by default for newer x64 Windows builds
• Updated Windows Subsystem for Android Settings app: redesigned UX and diagnostics data viewer added
• Simpleperf CPU profiler recording now works with Windows Subsystem for Android
• Windows taskbar now shows which Android apps are using microphone and location
• Improvements to Android app notifications appearing as Windows notifications
• Reduced flicker when apps are restored from minimized state
• Apps are not restarted when devices come out of connected standby on recent Windows builds
• New video hardware decoding (VP8 and VP9)
• Fixes for on-screen keyboard in apps
• Fixes for full-screen Android apps and auto-hidden Windows taskbar
• Windows Subsystem for Android updated with Chromium WebView 100
• Added support for Android NetworkLocationProvider in addition to GpsLocationProvider
• Improved general stability, performance, and reliability

The new update is limited to Windows Insiders for now, but once Microsoft fixes all the bugs, it should start rolling out to everyone on Windows 11 that has the Android Subsystem enabled.

As you know, installing Windows 10 is quite a complicated process in the background even though it may look like an easy task in the foreground. There are times when the setup is stuck on the “Hi there” screen where you won’t be able to input any information in the fields given and you wouldn’t be able to do anything else since the screen does not move ahead. There are a lot of possible reasons why this issue occurs. It could be due to a damaged setup image, invalid boot configuration, and many more. To resolve this problem, there are several options you can check out. You can try to get a new setup image or run the Automatic Repair or you could also try to recreate the Boot Configuration files or BCD. To get started in checking out these solutions, make sure to follow the instructions provided below.

Option 1 – Try to run the Automatic Repair Utility

You might also want to use Automatic Repair in fixing the error. To do so, follow the steps below.

• You can start by creating and booting from a bootable Windows 10 USB Stick.
• After that, click on Repair your computer located on the bottom left corner when you are on the initial Windows Startup screen.
• Next, click on Troubleshoot, and then on the other screen, click the Startup Repair option.
• Now select the operating system you want to repair. Once you do that, it will start to repair your operating system. Wait until the process is completed and then check if the problem’s now fixed.

Option 2 – Try to rebuild the BCD files

You can also try rebuilding the BCD files to resolve stuck screen issue in your Windows 10 computer.

• You can start by booting into the installation environment for Windows 10 from an installation media.
• After that, click on Repair your computer and on the blue screen, select Troubleshoot and then select the Advanced options menu.
• From there, select Command Prompt and once you open it, enter each one of the commands given below by sequence.
  • bootrec /FixMbr
  • bootrec /FixBoot
  • bootrec /ScanOS
  • bootrec /RebuildBcd
• Once you’re done executing the commands given above, type “exit” to close the Command Prompt window and then restart your computer and see if it fixed error code 0xc000014c.

Option 3 – Try recreating the Windows 10 installation USB

Recreating the Windows 10 installation USB might help in fixing the problem. You can use a USB drive to do so but make sure that it has a great read-write speed. Follow the steps below to recreate Windows 10 installation USB”

• Click this link and then click the Download Tool Now button.
• Next, click the “Use the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file)…” option and follow the next given instructions on the screen.
• Now select the ISO file option in step 5.
• After that, you should now have an ISO file.
• Next, go to the location where you’ve downloaded the ISO file.
• Then right-click on the Windows 10 ISO file and select the Open with option and then select File Explorer.
• Now click on “setup.exe” and follow the next instructions that appear on the screen. When asked, you have to select either Nothing (clean install) or Keep personal files only option. Take note that you must not select the “Keep personal files, apps, and Windows settings since it doesn’t really work.

Option 4 – Try getting a new Windows image file

If none of the four given options above worked, you might want to get a newer installation image using the Windows Media Creation tool. After that, create the bootable USB drive and once completed and then try to run the Windows 10 setup again.

If you like to schedule different tasks on your Windows 10 computer and automate them, then you would find the Windows Task Scheduler very useful. It is commonly used by a lot of users to schedule various tasks like scheduling periodic execution of scripts and some programs to make sure that the intended tasks are automatically carried out. Apart from being a preinstalled application, the Task Scheduler is already available on your computer. However, there are times when you might encounter some errors while using it. One of these errors is error 0xFFFD0000. You can encounter this error while executing some PowerShell scripts. It can occur to any tasks as well especially to the ones that have a file executed using a particular program. And just like the PowerShell script, files also use PowerShell to be executed. To fix Error 0xFFFD0000, you need to follow the instructions provided below carefully. Step 1: In the Start Search, type “task scheduler” and click on Task Scheduler from the results to open it. Step 2: After opening Task Scheduler, right-click on the task that’s giving you the error and then click on Properties. Step 3: After that, navigate to the Actions tab in the new mini window that appears. Step 4: From there, select the action for the task and click on the Edit button which will open another mini window. Step 5: Next, make sure that the path to the executing program is properly typed inside the field of Program/script. Note that it should be set to the executable file for that particular program. For instance, you have to set it to “C:WindowsSystem32WindowsPowerShellv1.0powershell.exe” for the Windows PowerShell program. Step 6: You can also utilize the Browse button and navigate through Windows Explorer to locate that particular executable file for the program. Step 7: Now make sure to use the file argument in the Add arguments field followed by the path of the file to be executed. It should look like this:

-file "C:/Users/Ayush/Desktop/Powershell Script Sample.ps1"

Step 8: Once done, click on OK to save the changes made and see if the task is still giving you an error or not. On the other hand, if you are still getting the same error, you can try to repair the Task Scheduler by deleting corrupted tasks. Note that a single corrupted file can cause big problems so this option is quite important. And for you to delete a corrupted task or any task from the Task Scheduler, you have to use the Registry Editor if you are not able to use the Task Scheduler interface. To do so, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the dialog box for Run.
• Next, type in regedit and click on OK or tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Then navigate to this path: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheTree

Note: In this path, you can see all the tasks that are currently set in the Task Scheduler. And since it would be hard to tell which one of them is corrupted, you have to delete the latest one in Task Scheduler last. But before you do so, make sure that you take a note of the ID of the tasks. And for you to get the ID, you have to select the task you wish to delete and double click on the ID string located on your right-hand side, and then copy it in the Notepad.

• Right-click on the task name and then delete it.
• After that, delete the very same GUID which you have copied earlier from these folders:
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheBoot
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheLogon
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheMaintenance
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCachePlain
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheTasks

Note: You might not see the same GUID from these folders but if you see it, delete it right away.

• Next, navigate to this location: C:WindowsSystem32Tasks
• Delete the very same tasks you just deleted from the Registry Editor.
• Restart your PC and check if the Task Scheduler is back to its normal state or not.

If you are frequently experiencing slow loading of folders in your Windows 10 computer, Downloads folder for instance, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will help you resolve such issue. Slow loading of folders is a common problem faced by many users even when they are using the latest hardware like SSDs. So if you experience the same thing, be it with the Downloads folder or other folders on your computer, there is a way to resolve that issue and make the folder load faster. Slow-loading means when you attempt to open the folder, it takes a couple of seconds before it displays its contents. In such cases, you’ll see a green loading address bar that says “Working on it” which can get quite annoying especially if you are in a hurry. And if you notice that this only happens in the Downloads folder, there certainly is something wrong. This kind of problem can occur on SSDs and normal hard drives. The main reason behind the occurrence of this problem is that the folder may have been optimized for viewing photos or other media formats which is why it takes quite longer than usual to load all the files and their thumbnails. However, since the Downloads folder usually contains all kinds of files like documents, zip files, audio/video files, etc. there is no need to optimize this folder for media files only because doing so is only going to make the Windows File Explorer slow in loading the folder’s contents and thumbnails which does not exist for many files.

Option 1 – Configure the Downloads folder

• Right-click on the Downloads folder or the folder you’re having trouble opening.
• Then click on Properties and go to the Customize tab.
• After that, click on the “Optimize this folder for” option in the drop-down menu.
• Next, select General items from the drop-down which might have been set by default to Pictures or Video.
• You also have the option to apply this template to all the subfolders, that is if your folder has any subfolders.
• Now apply the settings and restart Windows Explorer.

Note: Once you’ve completed the steps above, it should now make the folder content display a lot faster than before. Now try to open the Downloads folder which would not take much time as you will see the changes right away.

Option 2 – Run CHKDSK to check your disk for errors

When it comes to some issues concerning the hard drive or removable devices, there is a utility in Windows that might help which is called “chkdsk”. This error check utility can help with several issues in the system including File System Error -2147219196.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open the Search box.
• Then type “command prompt” in the field and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening an elevated command prompt, copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:

chkdsk /r /f

• Now if you are prompted to run CHKDSK after your reboot your PC, just tap Y and reboot your PC.
• If CHKDSK is not able to find any errors, tap the Win + E keys and navigate the access window. From there, right-click on the concerned drive and click on Properties.
• After opening Properties, click on the tab Tools and then click on the “Check” button under the Error-checking section.
• Wait until the process is completed and then restart your computer.
• Once your computer has restarted, try accessing the file and check if the error persists.

Microsoft will soon offer 4 CPU computer specifically aimed at developers and its name is Volterra. The machine as stated will come with 4 processors but the strange thing is that they will be ARM-based instead of x86.

CEO of Microsoft, mister Satya Nadella has introduced the product and Microsoft has released a youtube video promoting it.

https://youtu.be/yICVNta8jMU

The computer system will have Qualcomm's NPU or built-in neural processing unit to use AI's power to help developers write and produce better and faster code. The sad news is that besides processors used there is no other information on other components that will go into this system.

As seen in the video, the computer reminds me a lot of the apple MAC mini with its size and design, and as stated it is made from recycled plastic which in our opinion will bring the price under $1000.

Microsoft has not provided an official price tag for Volterra, but our hope is that it will be more affordable than building your own development PC. Also, there was nothing said about computer availability, we suspect that the selling model will be typical Microsoft one with first models available only in the USA and moving forward slowly opening it to other markets.

Volterra specifications

As previously said nothing except the number of CPUs and their type has been officially said but we managed to get some information about some other specific things not including its inside components.

The unit will have a fan inside of it for cooling purposes and better performance and that is what was officially stated by Microsoft. On the outside, it is known that the computer will have three USB-A ports, a mini DisplayPort, and an ethernet input. All of these will be positioned on the back of the device, on its left side there will be two USB-C ports.

The unit itself will be running on Windows 11 but it was not disclosed anything about the version, we presume since this is a model aimed for professional use that it will come with Windows 11 PRO version.

Currently available tools for ARM

Since this product is aimed at developers logically support for developing software is a must-have and at the time of this writing software that will come and that will run on Volterra is:

• Visual Studio 2022
• Visual Studio Code
• Visual C++
• Modern .NET 6 & JAVA
• Classic .NET
• Windows Terminal
• Windows Subsystem for Android
• Windows Subsystem for Linux

Conclusion

Once MAC studio has been released it showed that specific builds have their audience and can be sold for less of a price than full-fledged custom-made workstations. There is no doubt that Microsoft Volterra will find its audience but will that be enough to have more versions of this compact computer only time will tell.

There are instances when the Windows 10 installation needs interaction before it reaches the file process. And so if you suddenly encounter the Windows Update Installation Failure 0x80240020 error under the Windows Update History, then you need to get it fixed. When you encounter this kind of Windows Update Error, you will see an error message that says, “The operation did not complete because there is no logged-on interactive user”. This error also indicates the “WU_E_NO_INTERACTIVE_USER” code. To resolve this issue, in this post we’ll walk you through a couple of steps but before you get started, know that you don’t have to run any troubleshooter or delete any file just to fix this error since all you have to do is enable one option that can automatically login with your account and complete the installation for you. With that said, just make sure to only try running Windows Update once you’re told to do so. There are two ways you can enable the option that could resolve the Windows Update Installation Failure 0x80240020 error. One is via Settings while the second one is via Registry Editor.

Option 1 – via Settings

Step 1: Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options. Step 2: From there, toggle on the “Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device and reopen my apps after an update or restart” option. Step 3: After that, it will make sure that the interaction part is removed from the Windows Update process. Note: If your device is joined in a domain or if some work or email policies are applied to your device by your company or organization, then you wouldn’t be able to see this option in Settings and that’s where the Registry Editor comes in. Just make sure that you’re logged in as an administrator and that you create a System Restore Point first since registry hacks are sensitive and could highly impact how your computer behaves or functions. Once you have that covered, follow the steps below.

Option 2 – via Registry Editor

Step 1: In the Start search, type “Regedit” and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Step 2: Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdateOSUpgrade

Note: If the above-given registry key does not exist, you can simply create it. All you have to do is right-click on the WindowsUpdate key and then select the New Key option and type “OSUpgrade” as its name. Afterward, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it “AllowOSUpgrade” and set its value to 0x00000001. Step 3: Restart your computer and check if the error is now fixed. And then try to update your Windows 10 computer again and while you’re at it, make sure that you’re around your computer to interact with the prompts needed to complete the installation process.

We’ve already covered disabling Security Questions If you want to disable Security Questions on your Windows 10 computer then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in doing exactly that. In this post, you will be disabling Security Questions using a PowerShell script. This PowerShell script is called “Update-AllUsersQA”. It is designed to remove or disable the security questions and answers for local users on a Windows 10 computer. It lets administrators take control of the security questions in the environment and at the same time minimizes the risk that comes with them. If a user has a Microsoft account that’s configured to sign in to Windows 10 then he will not probably notice the Password Recovery questions. On the other hand, if he has a chosen local account for installing Windows, he will e prompted to create three security questions that can be used to reset the password and log into the Windows 10 account in case there is any misfortune. However, if you do not have much use for these Security Questions, then you can definitely have them disabled using a simple PowerShell script which you can download from GitHub. For more details on how to disable security questions in a Windows 10 machine, refer to the steps provided below. Step 1: You need to first download the .ps1 file from the GitHub repository. Step 2: Once you’ve downloaded the file, open the PowerShell window with admin privileges. Step 3: After that, navigate to the folder where you had saved the .ps1 file. Then copy the address of the folder location. Step 4: Next, change the directory by using the following command:

cd "folder location address"

Step 5: After that, enter the following script to disable the security questions:

Update-AllUsersQA

Once you’ve completed the steps above, the Security Questions should be disabled and you will be notified with a message stating that the feature has been disabled. On the other hand, if you have a change of heart and you want to enable the Security Questions back, here are some steps you need to take: Step 1: First, open the PowerShell window as admin. Step 2: Next, run the same script with one more parameter such as:

Update-AllUsersQA -answer SecretAnswer

Step 3: And that’s about it. Do not forget to replace the Secret Answer with your preferred one and once you’re done, it will be set as the answer for all the Security Questions. Step 4: Now all that’s left to do is go to the Settings app to change the answer to the questions and you should be good to go.

Windows users need to be on high alert. Microsoft has confirmed a critical vulnerability has been found in all versions of Windows which presents an immediate threat, and you need to act now. A critical new zero-day hack has been found which affects all Windows versions. Tracked as CVE-2021-34484, the “zero-day” flaw enables hackers to breach all versions of Windows (including Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2022) and take control of your computer. Microsoft mistakenly thought it had patched the vulnerability (which was first found in August) when it was publicly disclosed in October. But the fix itself was found to be flawed, something the company admitted, and this drew even more attention to the vulnerability. Microsoft subsequently promised to “take appropriate action to keep customers protected” but two weeks later, a new fix has still not arrived. Luckily the third-party security specialist 0patch has beaten Microsoft to the punch with a ‘micropatch that it has now made available for all Windows users “Micropatches for this vulnerability will be free until Microsoft has issued an official fix," 0patch confirmed. You will need to register for a 0patch account and install its download agent before the fix can be applied, but with 0patch fast becoming a go-to destination for hot fixes which beat software companies to the punch this is a no brainer. Hopes will be high that Microsoft can release an effective patch sooner rather than later but, until then, all Windows users must act now if they want to be safe. Download 0patch here: https://blog.0patch.com/2021/11/micropatching-incompletely-patched.html