Hard drive shows wrong free space

FreeMaps is a google chrome extension by Mindspark powered by Ask or MyWay. This extension offers users a quick and easy way to find the routes or locations that they desire. While all of this may seem appealing, this extension was classified as a Browser Hijacker by many anti-virus applications and was marked for removal.

When installed FreeMaps will change your home page, new tab and default search engine to MyWay.com, it will monitor your browsing activity and send it back to Mindspark ad servers. This data is later used/sold to better display targeted ads depending on your search queries.

While browsing the internet with this extension active you will see additional pop-up ads, sponsored links, and injected ads displaying throughout your browsing sessions, and even injected into websites that should be ad-free. Due to poor code optimization, these ads can sometimes cover a part of the page, making it unreadable or inaccessible.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is a form of unwanted software, commonly a browser add-on or extension, which then causes modifications in the web browser’s settings. Browser hijackers are capable of doing more than simply changing home pages. These are typically used to force hits to a specific site, manipulating web traffic to earn ad revenue. It could seem naive, but most of such websites aren’t legitimate and could present a major threat to your online safety. As soon as the malware attacks your laptop or computer, it begins to mess things up a whole that slows your computer down to a crawl. In the worse case, you will be forced to tackle serious malware threats too.

How you can know whether the browser is hijacked?

Signs that your web browser is hi-jacked include: your browser’s homepage is suddenly different; bookmark and the new tab are likewise modified; default web engine is modified; find new toolbars which you didn’t add; unstoppable flurries of popup adverts show up on your computer screen; your browser has instability issues or exhibits frequent errors; you cannot visit specific websites such as home pages of anti-malware software.

Exactly how browser hijacker finds its way onto your computer

A browser hijacker could be installed on your PC if you check out an infected website, click an e-mail attachment, or download something from a file-sharing website. They can also be deployed via the installation of a web browser toolbar, extension, or add-on. Some browser hijackers spread in user’s computer systems by using a deceptive software distribution method known as “bundling” (usually through freeware and shareware). Typical examples of browser hijackers include Conduit, CoolWebSearch, OneWebSearch, Coupon Server, RocketTab, Searchult.com, Snap.do, and Delta Search. Browser hijackers can record user keystrokes to gather potentially invaluable information that leads to privacy issues, cause instability on systems, drastically disrupt user’s browsing experience, and eventually slow down the system to a point where it becomes unusable.

Tips on how to remove browser hijackers

Some types of browser hijackers can be removed from your PC by deleting malicious software applications or any other recently installed shareware. Having said that, many hijackers are very tenacious and require specialized tools to eliminate them. You should think of carrying out manual repairs only if you are a tech-savvy person since there are dangers associated with messing around with the computer registry and HOSTS file. Professionals always suggest users to remove any malicious software including browser hijacker with an automatic malware removal tool, which is better, safer and faster than the manual removal procedure. One of the best tools for repairing browser hijacker malware is SafeBytes Anti-Malware. It will help you remove any pre-existing malicious software in your pc and provides you real-time monitoring and protection against the latest threats.

How To Install Safebytes Anti-Malware On An Infected Computer

All malware is inherently harmful, but certain kinds of malware do a lot more damage to your computer or laptop than others. Certain malware goes to great lengths to prevent you from downloading or installing anything on your PC, especially antivirus applications. So what should you do if malware prevents you from downloading or installing Safebytes Anti-Malware? Follow the instructions below to get rid of the malware in alternate ways.

Start Windows in Safe Mode

In the event the malware is set to run at Windows start-up, then booting in safe mode should avoid it. Only the bare minimum required programs and services are loaded when you start your PC in Safe Mode. Here are the steps you should follow to start your computer into the Safe Mode of your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers (visit Microsoft website for directions on Windows 8 and 10 computers). 1) Hit the F8 key repeatedly as soon as your PC boots, however, before the big Windows logo or black screen with white texts comes up. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Use the arrow keys to choose Safe Mode with Networking and press ENTER. 3) As soon as this mode loads, you will have an internet connection. Now, obtain the malware removal software you want by utilizing the internet browser. To install the program, follow the directions within the setup wizard. 4) After installation, run a full scan and let the program get rid of the threats it discovers.

Obtain the anti-malware software in a different internet browser

Some malware mainly targets specific browsers. If this sounds like your case, employ another web browser as it could circumvent the virus. If you appear to have malware attached to Internet Explorer, then switch to an alternate internet browser with built-in safety features, such as Chrome or Firefox, to download your preferred antivirus program – Safebytes.

Install antivirus on a flash drive

Here’s yet another solution which is using portable USB anti-malware software that can scan your system for viruses without the need for installation. Abide by these steps to run the anti-virus on the affected computer system. 1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or Microsoft Windows Defender Offline onto a virus-free PC. 2) Insert the USB drive into the clean PC. 3) Double click on the exe file to open the installation wizard. 4) Select the flash drive as the location for saving the software file. Follow activation instructions. 5) Transfer the thumb drive from the uninfected computer to the infected PC. 6) Double-click the Safebytes Anti-malware icon on the pen drive to run the program. 7) Press the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.

Protect your PC from Malware With SafeBytes Security Suite

In order to protect your computer from many different internet-based threats, it is important to install an anti-malware application on your laptop. However, with so many anti-malware companies out there, these days it’s tough to decide which one you should purchase for your PC. Some of them are great while some are scamware applications that pretend as legit anti-malware programs waiting around to wreak havoc on your PC. You have to be very careful not to pick the wrong product, especially if you purchase a premium application. When it comes to commercial anti-malware software options, the majority of people go with popular brands, like SafeBytes, and they are very happy with it. SafeBytes anti-malware is a highly effective and user-friendly protection tool that is designed for end-users of all levels of computer literacy. This program could easily detect, remove, and protect your PC from the latest malware intrusions including adware, spyware, trojan horses, ransomware, parasites, worms, PUPs, along with other potentially harmful software applications.

SafeBytes has fantastic features when compared with other anti-malware programs. The following are some of the great features included in the software.

Live Protection: SafeBytes gives real-time active supervision and protection from all known viruses and malware. It’ll continuously monitor your pc for hacker activity and also provides end-users with advanced firewall protection. World-class AntiMalware Protection: Safebytes is built on the best virus engine in the industry. These engines will detect and remove threats even during the initial stages of a malware outbreak. Safe Browsing: SafeBytes inspects the hyperlinks present on a web page for possible threats and tells you whether the website is safe to explore or not, through its unique safety rating system. “Fast Scan” Features: Safebytes AntiMalware, using its advanced scanning engine, gives ultra fast scanning which can quickly target any active online threat. Lowest CPU/Memory Usage: This software is lightweight and can work quietly in the background, and will not impact your computer efficiency. Premium Support: You can get 24/7 technical assistance to immediately resolve any issue with your security application. To conclude, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is really great for securing your laptop or computer against all kinds of malware threats. Now you may realize that this particular software does more than just scan and eliminate threats in your PC. If you’re searching for the best malware removal application out there, and if you don’t mind spending some dollars for it, go for SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you’d like to manually get rid of FreeMaps without the use of an automated tool, it may be actually possible to do so by removing the program from the Microsoft Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of browser extensions, going to the browser’s AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. It’s also suggested to factory reset your browser settings to their default state. If you opt to manually remove the system files and registry entries, use the following list to ensure that you know precisely what files to remove before executing any actions. Please remember that this is for professional users only and may be challenging, with incorrect file removal resulting in additional PC errors. In addition, certain malware is capable of replicating or preventing removal. Completing this task in Safe Mode is advised.

So, you have finished with work, game, movie, music, email, or whatever on your PC, you look at the clock, it is late, you decide to go to sleep or outside, you click on the power button and choose shutdown. Now when a PC is shut down you feel good and go with your business but the next time you power it up you get the same error like the computer never really shut down in the first place. You wonder why and reboot it, just in case and all of the sudden error is gone.

If something similar has happened to you or you had the feeling that after shutting down your computer has not really felt like shutting it down, do not seek professional help, everything is OK with you because when you click on shut down, your computer does not really shut down!

Truth is that Microsoft has changed how to shut down works and how rebooting works in Windows with an update but has not publicly said anything about it so some users may experience this feeling of not shutdown phenomenon and might even think there is something wrong with their PC.

Why this change?

A few years ago shutdown button and option in Windows were really shutting down OS, but things changed when Microsoft wanted to increase boot-up speed. Now when that decision was made shutdown option was changed. So, what was changed? Well in order to increase Windows booting time, the shutdown will now turn off power to PC components and it will look like everything is indeed shutdown but the Windows kernel will actually be saved to a hard drive with all settings and just awaken once the PC is turned back ON. This will result in all errors and other stuff being just still present same as they were once the system was instructed to be turned off.

Rebooting your PC will now clear kernel and file from the hard drive and you will get a clean system startup without any issues tied with the kernel itself.

Workaround

Now that we know why and what change has been made to Windows logical question is can we shut down our PC at all properly? Luckily for us, the answer is yes and we will not need any external application to do it, we can still do it inside Windows itself and it is quite quick and easy.

Bringing back the old shutdown

In order to bring the old shutdown functionality of your PC please follow the instructions but be aware that by doing this your PC will boot a little bit slower since it will have to load the kernel from scratch each time computer is turned ON.

First thing is to go to settings and go to System

Then once you are inside the system, navigate to the power and sleep and click on it to select it. Once you have it selected to all the way to the right and click on additional power settings.

When you click on advanced power settings you should be led to the control panel's power options. Inside this panel click on top left link where it says Choose what the power button does.

Inside options, you will need to untick the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended), this option has been ticked ON by the Windows update and probably without notifying you. Option means exactly what was described, it will save kernel state on the hard drive for faster boot time but sadly it can cause some issues since it will never be reloaded from 0.

If you are unable to uncheck the box click on the text beside the shield icon that says: Change settings that are currently unavailable (you will have to be logged in as administrator).

Conclusion

Altho turning off fast startup and shutting down the PC completely will for sure extend your bootup time I still believe that it is the right choice since sometimes a lot of clutter and bad things accumulate over time inside the OS and can cause a vast variety of problems in a long run. So stay safe and shut down that PC as it used to be in the past.

If, while using your computer, you encounter the ACPI.sys Blue Screen error, read on as this post will guide you in fixing the problem. The ACPI.sys file is a Windows operating system file that is related to the MSDN 2939. ACPI.sys, the Windows ACPI driver, is an inbox component of the Windows operating system. It is the one that supports the power management as well as the Plug and Play or PnP device enumeration. And so if this file ends up getting corrupted, it is known to cause a Blue Screen error. Another possible cause for the ACPI.sys Blue Screen error includes RAM issues, incompatible firmware, hard disk issues, corrupted drivers or malware infection, and so on. Here are some Blue Screen errors that can be triggered by the ACPI.sys file:

• KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• PAGE FAULT IN A NONPAGED AREA
• SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
• KERNEL DATA INPAGE
• SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION

To fix the Blue Screen error associated with the ACPI.sys file, refer to the instructions provided below.

Option 1 – Try to recreate the ACPI.sys file

If the first option didn’t work, the next thing you can do is to recreate the ACPI.sys file. Every time your Windows 10 PC boots up, it looks for all the system drivers in place and if it is unable to find them, it tries to create them. This is why if you remove your corrupt driver file, chances are, you might get a fixed file recreated just for you. How? Refer to the steps below.

• Boot your Windows 10 PC in Safe Mode.
• Then open File Explorer and navigate to this location: C:/Windows/System32/drivers
• From there, look for the file named ACPI.sys and rename it to ACPI.old.

Note: As you can see, the file’s extension has changed from .sys to .old.

• Now restart your computer and check if the ACPI.sys Blue Screen error is now fixed.

Option 2 – Try to update or rollback the ACPI Driver

The first thing you can try to fix the Storport.sys Blue Screen error is 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.

• Tap the Win + X keys to open the Win X menu and from there, select the Device Manager.
• After opening the Device Manager, look for the ACPI.sys driver and right-click on it, and then select Properties.
• Next, go to the Driver section. Note that the rollback option would only be available if you’ve recently updated the ACPI.sys driver. So if you can’t see it then click on the Update Driver button.
• After that, Windows will automatically check for the problems that could be related to the Blue Screen error.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Note: You can also directly download the relevant drivers of your computer from the manufacturers’ website. So if you have an SSD, the issue might be due to an old storage driver. On the other hand, if updating the ACPI driver, didn’t work, you can also try to copy the ACPI.sys system driver file from the System32 folder of another computer that’s functioning properly and runs the same Windows OS version. Afterward, place it on your problematic computer and check if it fixes the BSOD error or not.

Option 3 – Run System File Checker or SFC 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 with 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:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

 Reboot your PC.

Option 4 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

Troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death errors wouldn’t be complete without the Blue Screen troubleshooter. As you know, it is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like ACPI.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.
• From 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.

Option 5 – Run System Restore

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

While browsing the internet, if you suddenly encounter a warning with an error message saying, “Server certificate has been revoked ERR CERT REVOKED” then it indicates that the SSL certificate used by the website has been revoked by its issuer. This kind of problem can only be fixed by the website owner but that does not mean that you can’t do anything about it. In fact, you have the option to bypass this error as well as contact the certificate issuer – all this and more. Just a reminder, if a website that accepts payment, its passwords don’t have SSL or has some certification issue, you should never trust it. For instance, if you are trying to purchase something online and you’re on the payment stage but you encounter the “Server certificate has been revoked ERR CERT REVOKED” error, you must not proceed. To resolve the “Server certificate has been revoked ERR CERT REVOKED” error, here are some things you can do.

Option 1 – Try contacting the Certificate Issuer

If you are the website owner, of course, the best thing you can is to get in touch with the Certificate Issuer in order to resolve the problem.

Option 2 – Try fixing the Date and Time

You have to check your computer’s Date and Time. There are cases when this simple setting causes a connection problem. So if your computer Date and Time is set to date or time that this after the certificate expiration date, then you have to make sure that you set it to automatically configure time. To do so, just open Settings > Time and Language. From there, turn on the toggle for “Set time automatically” and “Set time zone automatically” options. After that, check if it fixes the error, if not, you need to check if the manual selection is correctly set or not.

Option 3 – Bypass the Certificate Revocation Check

As pointed out earlier, you have the option to bypass the Certificate Revocation check. All you have to do is follow the steps below.

• In the search box of your browser, type “internet options” and open it once it appears.
• After that, go to the Advanced tab and navigate to the Security subheading.
• Next, uncheck the “Check for publisher’s certificate revocation” option as well as the “Check for server certificate revocation” option.
• Now restart your computer. Upon the next startup, try opening the website again. This time, your browser will stop checking it for certificate issues. However, it’s not safe to leave those options unchecked so make sure that once the website’s SSL certificate is fixed or once you no longer have to visit that website, you recheck those options.

System Interrupts are operating system processes that function as an alert system for the CPU. So whenever a scenario needs the attention of the CPU, it alerts the CPU about it. In turn, the CPU suspends what it is doing, saves it, and then takes care of that important job and once that job is completed, it resumes back to what it was doing. This indicates that although System Interrupts appears as a process, it’s actually not. As a matter of fact, it is like a manager that reports to the CPU about all interrupts that happen on a hardware level, e.g. hardware interrupts. And if there are lots of interrupts, this means that there might be various errors occurring on a hardware level. As a result, it may take a lot of system resources. And if you consider disabling System Interrupts, stop right there as your computer will almost become useless without it. So if you see System Interrupts consuming high CPU usage in your Windows 10 computer, you can fix it without having to disable it and cause more problems. If System Interrupts takes up more than 5 to 10% of CPU, then you definitely have a problem. This could be happening due to some hardware or driver issue. The first thing you can do is to try rebooting your computer once and see if the issue comes back or not. High CPU usage of System Interrupts is a huge backlog for the CPU and it stays in the loop. If a simple system restart didn’t fix this issue, here are some suggestions you can try.

Option 1 – Try to update the hardware drivers

As stated, the problem might have something to do with hardware drivers so you can try to update these drivers and see if it works.

• Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with networking support.
• Tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After opening the Device Manager, update all the outdated Hardware drivers on your computer.
• Next, right-click on all the driver entries that are appropriately labeled, and then click the Update driver option.
• Now restart your PC and check if the BSOD error is fixed or not.

Note: On the other hand, if a recent update has caused the System Interrupts high CPU usage, then you might want to roll back your hardware drivers to their previous versions. You can check with the Windows Update History to check out any recent updates as well as the previous ones.

Option 2 – Try to disconnect and reconnect all hardware and cables

A lot of users reported that they were able to fix the problem by disconnecting and reconnecting cables and hardware like scanners, printers, cameras can help in fixing the problem. In addition, you can also boot your computer in a Clean Boot State so that you can find the problematic hardware by hit and trial method. Refer to the steps below to do so:

• 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.)

Option 3 – Try to enable or disable Hardware

If you do not want to remove hardware, you can just disable them using the Device Manager. Note that this can also be applied to the internal hardware.

• Tap the Win + X + M keys to open the Device Manager.
• Next, navigate to the device you want to disable.
• Then right-click on it and choose to disable the device.

Note: Make sure that you disable one device at a time and then give it a couple of minutes and check if there are any changes in the CPU usage to pinpoint the hardware. And if there is no change, you need to enable the device you’ve just disabled and then proceed to disable the next hardware device. If there are changes, then it’s probably the culprit. Just keep in mind that you must no disable any device that is needed to keep your system up and running.

Option 4 – Try to update the BIOS/UEFI

Updating the BIOS/UEFI can help you fix the high CPU usage of System Interrupts but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “msinfo32” in the field and press Enter to open System Information.
• From there, you should find a search field on the bottom where you have to search for the BIOS version and then press Enter.
• After that, you should see the developer and version of the BIOS installed on your PC.
• Go to your manufacturer’s website and then download the latest version of BIOS on your computer.
• If you are using a laptop, make sure that you keep it plugged in until you have updated the BIOS.
• Now double click on the downloaded file and install the new BIOS version on your computer.
• Restart your computer to apply the changes made.

Option 5 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter or the Performance Troubleshooter

Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter:

• The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
• After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
• From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
• Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
• After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.

Performance Troubleshooter:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type “exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
• Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.

As you know, the Start Menu in Windows 10 is quite a stable experience. However, there are times when it can encounter some issues as well like getting corrupted. If your computer is going through the same problem, you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how you can fix the “Tile Data is corrupt” error. This kind of problem is actually quite common among a lot of Windows 10 users. This kind of problem prevents the Start Menu from working properly and no amount of clicking the keyboard keys or mouse will resolve the issue. Fixing it is important since the Start Menu is required for the operating system to function properly and even though there are several ways to get around in using the Start Menu, it can get quite problematic. Even if you manage to open the Start Menu, the ability to click on apps to open them is out of the question and you need to fix the problem. Worry not for the potential fixes provided in this post are not hard to follow. You can try to run the Start Menu troubleshooter or run the DISM tool. You could also reset the folder for Tile Database or re-register the Windows 10 Start Menu. For more details, refer to each one of the options provided below.

Option 1 – Try running the Start Menu troubleshooter

The first and basic thing you can do to fix the problem is to run the Start Menu troubleshooter as it can help you fix the problem automatically. Since this is not a built-in troubleshooter, you can download it from the official website of Microsoft. After you download it, run it and wait until it’s done identifying the problem and automatically fixing it.

Option 2 – Try running the DISM tool

You can run the DISM tool as well to help fix the “Tile Database is corrupt” 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
  • Dism(.)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.
• Once it’s done, check if it was able to fix the corrupted Start Menu or not.

Option 3 – Try to reset the Tile Database folder

• First, you need to restart your computer and log into another user account where the Start Menu works.
• Next, navigate to this folder location, C:/Users/<userX>/AppData/Local/Tile/DataLayer.
• From there, copy the “TdlData.xml” file and save it to another drive.
• Once done, restart your computer and log into the user account where the Start Menu is corrupted.
• After that, navigate to this folder location, C:/Users/<userY>/AppData/Local/Tile/DataLayer.
• Now paste the TdlData.xml file you copied earlier and navigate to this location, %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsShell.
• Afterward, copy the DefaultLayouts.xml file from the user account that’s working fine to the user account where the Start Menu is corrupted.

Option 4 – Try to re-register the Windows 10 Start Menu

• Tap the Win + X and select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin” option from the menu.
• After opening PowerShell, execute this command: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Foreach{Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml"}
• Wait until the command is executed and then see if it fixed the problem with the Start Menu 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.

As you know, each one of the Windows 10 versions is priced differently and one of the considered more expensive compared to the Windows 10 Home version is the Windows10 Pro. The good thing is, Microsoft allows its users to upgrade from the Windows 10 Home version to the Windows 10 Pro version at a reasonable cost instead of buying the entire license again. However, upgrading your Windows 10 computer is not always that easy and you might encounter some errors along the way. One of the reported errors you could encounter is an error message that says, “Something happened, and we couldn’t start the upgrade”. This kind of problem is due to the problems with the Microsoft Store or the key authorization and to fix it, there are several options you can check out. You can try to run the built-in troubleshooters such as the Windows Update troubleshooter, Windows Store Apps troubleshooter, or Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter. You could also try to reset the Windows Store cache or re-register the Windows Store app. For more details, refer to each one of the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to run the Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter

Since the Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter is not built-in into the Windows operating system, you can download this troubleshooter by clicking on this link.

Option 2 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the “Something happened, and we couldn’t start the upgrade” error. 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 3 – Run the Windows Store App troubleshooter

The Windows 10 Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the problem in Microsoft Store. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app issues. To use the Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

• Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
• Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
• Under the Troubleshoot section, on your left-hand side, scroll down to find Window Store Apps.
• Then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and follow the on-screen instructions and then see if it fixes the problem.

Option 4 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache

As you know, like any other apps, Microsoft Store also caches as you view apps and games so it is most likely that the cache is no longer valid and must be removed. To do so, follow the steps below.

• 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.
• Now restart your PC and afterward, try opening Microsoft Store again and then try to install your app or update your computer again.

Option 5 – Try to re-register the Microsoft Store app via Windows PowerShell

• Tap the Win + X key combination or right-click on the Start button and click on the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option.
• If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed and open the Windows PowerShell window.
• Next, type in or copy-paste the following command to re-register the Microsoft Store app and tap Enter:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $Env:SystemRootWinStoreAppxManifest.xml

• Wait for the process to be completed and then restart your computer.

Option 6 – Try contacting Microsoft

If none of the options worked, you might also want to contact Microsoft for further assistance in fixing the error.

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.

iOS + Android proof:
👀🫥😮‍💨🤡⛈️⚖️💸💸💸 pic.twitter.com/u3Q30KIs7e

— ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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.

myBrowser is a Potentially Unwanted Program that allows users to access the internet. This browser suggests users install other PUP like myfiles, myemail, and others. This application claims to be a good reliable portable internet browser, however during our test use of the program several website scripts crashed and were not able to open up all the website assets required, leaving the users with a mediocre browsing experience.

While browsing the internet through this program, you might see additional ads and sponsored links injected into your search results and/or websites.

About Potentially Unwanted Applications

What is a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP)?

Everyone has experienced it – you download and install a free application, you then notice some unwanted programs on your computer system, come across a strange toolbar on your web browser, or find your default search engine has been changed to something else. You didn’t set them up, so how did they turn up? Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), also referred to as Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA), are programs that you never wanted in the first place and often come bundled with freeware software. Once installed, most of these applications can be difficult to eliminate and become much more of an annoyance rather than a necessity. PUP doesn’t involve malware in the traditional sense. A basic difference between PUP and malware is distribution. Malware is commonly dropped by silent installation vectors such as drive-by downloads while PUP gets installed with the consent of the user, who knowingly or unintentionally authorizes the PUP installation on their PC. PUP developers may argue that their programs aren’t malicious software but they can still be dangerous software and put the computer at risk much the same way a computer virus does.

What do PUPs do on your PC, precisely?

Unwanted programs can be found in various forms. Usually, they will be found in adware bundlers that are known to utilize aggressive and misleading advertising. The majority of bundlers install many adware applications from several vendors, each of which features its own EULA policy. Safebytes Anti-malware entirely removes this threat and protects your PC against unwanted programs or malware infection. PUPS also appear in the form of undesirable toolbars or web browser add-ons. They may change your internet browser settings, monitor your surfing activities and online searches, take up a large amount of space on your monitor, and degrade your web browsing experience. Potentially Unwanted Programs at times act quite similarly to computer viruses or spyware. They will often carry keyloggers, dialers, and other programs built inside them that may track you or send your sensitive details to third parties. Even if the PUPs aren’t basically malicious, these programs still do absolutely nothing good on your computer – they will take precious resources, slow down your PC, weaken your device’s security, making your PC more vulnerable to trojans.

Protect yourself from PUPs

• Read very carefully before you install anything. Do not click accept till you have read the fine print. There will probably be a clause about PUPs. • Always select “Custom” or “Advanced” installation and never blindly click the Next button, which will let you uncheck any foistware software programs you do not want. • Use an anti-PUP program. Security software like Safebytes Anti-malware provides the very best real-time protection against PUPs and also other malware. • Be alert if you install freeware, open-source software, or shareware. Don’t install programs that appear suspicious or malicious. • Always download software from reliable sources like official websites instead of untrustworthy sharing space. Stay away from file-hosting sites where/when possible. Comply with these guidelines and you should more or less never get potentially unwanted programs on your PC

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

Malware could cause all kinds of damage once they invade your PC, from stealing your private details to deleting files on your computer. Some malware is designed to restrict or prevent things that you wish to do on your computer. It may well not let you download anything from the internet or stop you from accessing a few or all of the internet sites, particularly the anti-malware sites. So what you should do if malware prevents you from downloading or installing Safebytes Anti-Malware? Follow the instructions below to eliminate malware by alternate methods.

Make use of Safe Mode to fix the problem

If any virus is set to run automatically when Microsoft Windows starts, stepping into safe mode could very well block this attempt. Since only the minimal programs and services launch in Safe Mode, there are hardly any reasons for issues to occur. Below 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) Hit the F8 key repeatedly as soon as your PC boots, but before the big Windows logo comes up. This will bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Make use of the arrow keys to select Safe Mode with Networking and press ENTER. 3) When this mode loads, you should have the internet. Now, make use of your internet browser to download and install an anti-malware application. 4) Right after the software is installed, let the scan run to remove viruses and other threats automatically.

Obtain the antivirus software using a different browser

Some malware mainly targets specific web browsers. If this sounds like your case, make use of another internet browser as it might circumvent the virus. If you’re not able to download the security application using Internet Explorer, this means the virus is targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you should switch to another internet browser such as Chrome or Firefox to download the Safebytes program.

Create a bootable USB antivirus drive

Here’s another solution which is creating a portable USB anti-virus software package that can scan your system for malware without needing installation. Adopt these measures to run the anti-virus on the affected PC. 1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or Microsoft Windows Defender Offline onto a clean PC. 2) Plug in the pen drive into the uninfected computer. 3) Double click on the exe file to open the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place in which you want to store the software files. Follow the directions to finish the installation process. 5) Now, transfer the flash drive to the infected computer. 6) Double-click the EXE file to open the Safebytes tool right from the flash drive. 7) Click the “Scan” button to run a full computer scan and remove malware automatically.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware: Lightweight Malware Protection for Windows Computer

If you’re looking to download the anti-malware program for your computer, there are numerous tools on the market to consider however, you should not trust blindly anyone, irrespective of whether it is a paid or free program. Some of them do a good job in removing threats while some will ruin your computer themselves. You have to select one that is reliable, practical and has a good reputation for its malware source protection. On the list of strongly recommended tool by industry experts is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, a well known security software for Microsoft Windows. SafeBytes is a powerful, real-time anti-malware application that is designed to assist the common computer user in safeguarding their computer from malicious threats. With its outstanding protection system, this tool will quickly detect and eliminate the majority of the security threats, which includes adware, viruses, browser hijackers, ransomware, trojans, worms, and PUPs.

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

Live Protection: SafeBytes offers real-time active checking and protection against all known viruses and malware. It will continuously monitor your pc for hacker activity and also gives end-users superior firewall protection. Best AntiMalware Protection: This deep-cleaning anti-malware application goes much deeper than most antivirus tools to clean your computer. Its critically acclaimed virus engine locates and disables hard to remove malware that hides deep within your computer. Website Filtering: SafeBytes provides instant safety rating to the webpages you’re going to visit, automatically blocking unsafe sites and to make sure that you are certain of your safety while browsing the internet. Lightweight Utility: SafeBytes is a light-weight application. It consumes a very small amount of processing power as it works in the background so you are free to use your Windows-based computer the way you really want. Premium Support: You will get 24/7 technical assistance to quickly resolve any concern with your security application. SafeBytes can keep your PC protected from the latest malware threats automatically, thus keeping your online experience secure and safe. Now you may realize that this tool does more than just scan and delete threats in your computer. If you’re looking for the very best malware removal tool out there, and if you don’t mind spending some dollars for it, opt for SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you want to carry out the removal of myBrowser manually instead of using an automated software tool, you can follow these simple steps: Proceed to the Windows Control Panel, click on the “Add/Remove Programs” and there, choose the offending application to remove. In cases of suspicious versions of browser extensions, you can easily remove them through your web browser’s extension manager. You will most probably also want to totally reset your internet browser to its default settings. Lastly, check your hard disk for all of the following and clean your Windows registry manually to remove leftover application entries after uninstalls. Please remember that only advanced computer users should try to manually edit the registry because incorrect file deletion leads to a major problem or even a PC crash. Moreover, some malicious programs have the capability to defend against its deletion. Carrying out this in Safe Mode is advised.