Drivers, or better said, problematic drivers are one of the top reasons for issues with updates and even BSoDs.
Microsoft changed the way how they validate drivers and with Windows 10 version 2004, they made it easier and safer to download and install new drivers.
All driver updates are now listed under the View optional updates option. That means that you don’t need to check for drivers in the Device Manager anymore.
According to a recent document issued by Microsoft, they will evaluate better the quality and reliability of a Windows 10 driver update by analyzing the data coming from cohorts.
The cohorts refer to a set of systems and devices that share the same targeting attributes including HWID, CHID, and OS version.
Another idea behind this move was that hardware manufacturers would able to block updates when you try to install incompatible drivers.
How can I check for drivers using View optional updates?
Click on the Windows button and hit the Settings button (the cogwheel above the Power button).
Next, click on Updates & Security.
In the Windows Update window, click on the View optional updates option.
In the next window, you will see the Driver updates category but no updates.
Click on Driver updates in order to expand with possible updates.
Check the boxes of the drivers you want to install and click on the Download and install button.
How can I find out which drivers I installed?
If you installed the drivers and have some issues with it, you can always go to the manufacturer’s website and download a previous version. But how do you know which one had a problem?
It’s simple, you just need to check the history of updates:
In the Windows Update window, click on the View update history option.
Click on the Driver updates option and you will see the list with all the previous drivers you installed complete with their versions.
Use a driver updater
Dedicated driver updater software pulls off several driver-related tasks with just a couple of clicks.
Once installed, if you run the tool it will scan your device and return a full list with all the installed drivers, their status and recommended actions.
This would be the easiest way to find out the latest drivers you installed, or if any driver is missing or needs updating, plus get recommendations of matching software.
For many Windows 10 and 8 users, the brightness option is no longer available in Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 and this is causing a lot of frustration among users. Read below how you could fix this.
If you are a new Windows 10, 8, or Windows 8.1 user, then everything probably seems totally different and new for you. But everything is just as simple as before, so don’t fret.
The brightness option, of course, is available in Windows 10, 8, or Windows 8.1 and is actually very simple to find.
To find the brightness option, just press windows logo+w to open the Search Charm and just type brightness and select the settings.
But if your problem is related to pressing a key on your keyboard or laptop, like the user below suggests on the Microsoft forums, then you need to try some other fixes.
for some time the brightness button after you press settings in the sidebar is unavailable before I installed windows 8.1, with the shortcut keys on the wireless keyboard accompanying my all-in-one Toshiba not working. the brightness work first when I originally got the computer but does not now. is it because of an update?
How do I enable the brightness option in Windows 10?
1. Change your power plan settings
From the Start Screen, type Control Panel and select it.
Set the View by: dropdown to Category.
Select Hardware and Sound.
Select Power Options.
Select the Change plan settings link on your current power plan.
Select Change advanced power settings.
Expand Display.
Expand Enable adaptive brightness.
Change the setting to On and select OK.
If your Windows Defender is giving you warnings about setting the brightness to maximum, you can disable it by following this quick guide.
2. Update your display drivers
Press the Win Key + S and type Device Manager.
Open Device Manager.
Expand the Display adapter section and select your GPU.
Right-click on your GPU and select Update driver.
Users should also try updating their display drivers to fix the brightness unavailable Windows 8.1 error. They can do that by using the Device Manager method which we explained in detail above.
If you are using an Nvidia or AMD GPU you might try to download the latest drivers from your manufacturer’s website, which could solve your problem.
2.1 Update drivers automatically
Updating your drivers manually requires you to check your hardware model and search for the latest compatible driver version available.
Such a process is tedious, requires a lot of time, and is not safe if you have no background knowledge. Thankfully, there are other ways to automatically download and update your drivers.
You can get the latest driver versions for your PC hardware components using automated support from specialized software such as Outbyte Driver Updater.
This resourceful tool will help you manage every aspect of your drivers, starting from installing missing drivers or fixing damaged ones that might lead to risky BSoD issues.
The main problem that a Windows user can have is upgrading to the latest version and not finding the brightness option.
For those of you who struggle with that, here’s the right fix for you. You will find all the possible solutions in order to fix this issue.
If you have a Windows 10 OS, you may have the brightness set to maximum. Many users reported this malfunction from different laptop models and PC configurations.
The term antivirus has become so ingrained in tech culture, that almost everyone is familiar with its meaning. Chances are you have a PC running Windows 10, and you’re wondering if you still need one.
After all, Windows 10 is the most advanced and secure desktop operating system to date. The short and simple answer is yes, and we’re going to explore five reasons why an antivirus is still a necessity.
Do you need antivirus for Windows 10?
1. Microsoft itself ships Windows 10 with a built-in antivirus
The most obvious reason why antivirus software is still a necessity for most users is Windows Defender.
Yes, even Microsoft – the company behind the Windows operating system that currently runs on over 1.5 billion PC – began integrating a basic antivirus solution with the release of Windows Vista in 2006.
Years later, things haven’t changed all that much, except for the explosion of security threats.
Today we have hundreds of millions of new PCs shipping every year with Windows Defender as an integral part of Windows 10, which comes pre-installed on many of these devices.
It provides a basic layer of security until you install your own choice of antivirus.
For this reason, you should choose a professional antivirus that will keep your operating system virus-free.
Use a third-party antivirus
To be sure your computer’s operating system is free of errors, viruses and that your sensitive data will not be obtained by unauthorized sources, you must take a little bit further. Windows Defender cannot handle all of these issues alone,, which means you have to use a professional software.
If you need a fast and light software to keep your computer healthy, safe and optimized, then TotalAV is just what you need.
This performant antivirus is the perfect tool for gamers as well as average users wishing to have uninterrupted sessions of work or gaming at their computers. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
TotalAV has created TotalAV to run without requiring a lot from your computer resources. This means you can play, watch movies or work at your computer while this antivirus is active without experiencing any slowdowns.
Once TotalAV has been downloaded and installed, let it scan and he will do what he knows best: to clean your computer of viruses, worms, ransomware, spyware, and all types of malware.
TotalAV
TotalAV is your computer’s best ally as it will detect and remove any virus, malware, worms, ransomware and spyware.
2. An antivirus can be used for easy setup of security rules
If you’re running the latest version of Windows 10, you can use the new Windows Defender Security Center to do more than just scanning for viruses.
Additional features include Device performance & health, Firewall and network protection, App and browser control, and Family options.
The Windows Defender Security Center can provide you with additional tools, which is pretty good for a free tool, but still not enough when it comes to traditional, paid third-party solutions.
There are free versions available from third parties, but they’re just as limited, and some will even nag you with pop-up ads.
There’s a good reason why some antivirus vendors have changed the branding of their products to reflect how paid tiers of their products provide you with more than a simple virus scanner tool.
Some even offer mail spam protection, web browsing privacy protection, or use your mobile device as a strengthening tool for your PC’s security.
3. Antiviruses have evolved to match new security threats
Most of you have probably heard or read news about classic types of malware, such as Trojans, worms, keyloggers, and backdoors. These would typically infect users through things like email attachments or downloads from suspicious websites.
After that, they would spread to all devices in a local network, causing even more damage. All of them are different methods used to take advantage of your sensitive information.
Microsoft has been improving the security of Windows with each new release, rendering many of the classic viruses obsolete. In turn, the bad guys have devised new ways to attack and take over control of your PC.
One notable example is ransomware, which steals your data and makes it technically impossible to access unless you pay the thieves in a way that makes it very unlikely to ever identify them.
In the meantime, antivirussoftware has evolved to deal with such threats. It can now provide special protection for your important folders, prevent malware from starting with Windows, and set up a trusted application whitelist.
Some antiviruses even prevent an attacker from modifying their settings or uninstalling by locking things under a user password.
4. Your web browser is not as secure as you think
Chances are you spend the most time using a web browser, and this is also one of the main targets for the bad guys. As much as Google, Microsoft, and others like to tout how safe their browser is, the reality is that all of them have flaws.
That leaves you vulnerable until you get an update, which can take some time depending on the complexity of fixing the flaw.
On top of these, the classic phishing attacks still work. Attackers can hide malicious code in ads, auto-playing video, or social media campaigns masquerading as legitimate competitions or giveaways.
Once you click on these, you’re infected. And since there’s no visual clue of what has happened, you may not even know it.
Some attacks involve redirects that take you from a legitimate service to an infected or masquerading web page.
As you’re trying to log in, you basically give away your credentials to the bad guys. Good antiviruses typically analyze the web page code and will warn you if it’s malicious.
5. The antivirus as an additional layer of security
But I’m careful what I do with my PC and on the web is what some users may say. But you can never be too careful about security, and good practices are not enough to keep your PC safe. Thinking proactively about security will lower the risk of data and financial theft, or identity fraud.
As medics say: prevention is better than the cure. Here are some of the situations where an antivirus can provide some precious additional security:
online shopping, banking, and trading;
using public Wi-Fi;
sharing links, files, or even your PC with others;
clicking on ads, giveaway links;
watching adult content;
when using social media or exploring the web;
when downloading files, media, and software from the web
Some of you may even think that antiviruses can catch malware only after the fact. In reality, the best security solutions today analyze the behavior of any app you run.
This increases the chances of discovering a security threat before it even has a chance to do any harm.
What about Windows 10 S?
Microsoft says that Windows 10 S is more secure because it only runs sandboxed apps from the Microsoft Store. That’s true to some extent, but it’s not the whole story.
You’re only less likely to get spyware and adware from the Store – which is curated by Microsoft.
You’ll only be able to use Microsoft’s Edge browser in Windows 10 S, which is still vulnerable to attacks. Your important files still need protection from ransomware.
Even sandboxed apps from the Store are not the holy grail of security. On top of that, the default account on Windows 10 S is still is vulnerable to attacks.
The takeaway is this: an antivirus is still as important as being careful and keeping your software up to date. Also, there’s no need to spend a fortune on an antivirus.
Companies like Bullguard or Bitdefender offer more affordable tiers that fit your specific needs. What do you use as a security solution?
Feel free to share your experience with us via the comments section below.
Twitter released their latest set of release notes earlier today detailing all of the major and minor changes that have been made to the Twitter web app that powers the official Windows 10 Twitter app and, naturally, the web app that’s accessible via web browsers on PCs, tablets, and Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles.
The two biggest changes made include the addition of a new Topics menu option for users to follow, unfollow, and manage topics from and the first sign of support for Fleets, Twitter’s Instagram Story-like feature.
While the Windows/web version of Twitter doesn’t have full support for Fleets just yet, such as a full menu along the top of the screen that displays new Fleets to view, users are now able to watch Fleets in full from within a Message (DM) once someone replies or reacts to one they’ve made.
For example, if you make a Fleet on the iOS or Android Twitter app and someone responds to it, you’ll be able to read their response and watch the Fleet in question via the Messages tab.
Fleets: We’ve enabled DM Fleet previews and the Fleet viewer screen for all.
Nudges: When Retweeting a Tweet that contains a link to an article, you’ll now be shown a nudge prompting you to think about reading the article before you share.
Topics: There’s a new page for browsing and picking Topics. You can find it by going to the Topics screen via the More menu, and clicking “More Topics”. You can also navigate there directly via twitter.com/i/topics/picker.
Topics: We’re experimenting with showing Topics to follow in the sidebar on widescreen views to give you more examples of Topics you may be interested in.
Updated
Accessibility: Voiceover will now read out labels for government and state-affiliated media when focusing a Tweet that includes these labels.
Accessibility: Improved focus navigation and voiceover when navigating into a Tweet within a conversation.
Accessibility: Corrected accessibility markup on Buttons that act as links to other pages, or reposition you on the current page.
Account: Improved readability of error messages on the account login page.
DM: Improved dynamic display for larger numbers of avatars in the DM conversation information section for group conversations.
Emoji: Updated emoji to Twemoji 13.0.2. Visual coverage of the changes can be found at Emojipedia, and more specific information can be found at GitHub.
Lists: Added screen name to the add/remove from Lists menu action for additional context.
Notifications: Increased the number of avatars that are shown for condensed notifications on the notification screen.
Nudges: Improved the look and feel of article nudges shown at various screen sizes when Retweeting a Tweet with a link to an article.
Fixed
Bookmarks: The floating compose button will now show properly on the Bookmarks screen on mobile clients.
Composer: The cursor will now start at the beginning when auto populating the composer with a hashtag from an Event or other source.
Composer: Opening scheduled or drafted Tweets from the inline composer will no longer display an empty composer modal.
DM Drawer: The popover menus that are displayed for DM messages will no longer scroll with the body of the page when using the DM Drawer.
DMs: Fixed an issue where the DM muted accounts timeline would show as empty after navigating away and back.
DMs: When sending media through DMs, the composer will no longer incorrectly clear, and will become disabled until the media has actually sent.
Events: Fixed issues with cropping on Event header images.
Lists: The Lists menu item will no longer disappear at smaller screen heights.
Lists: Corrected an issue where clicking on Followers on the List screen was showing an error screen.
Lists: Fixed an issue where rapid presses of the next button when creating a List would create duplicates.
Profile: We will no longer show the location icon if the location is empty.
Scrollbars: Updated a number of places where scrollbars were being shown when they shouldn’t have been.
Topics: Fixed an issue where clicking on Topics in the carousel was not requesting new items as needed.
Topics: Unfollowing a Topic from within the home timeline will now correctly show a confirmation prompt.
Tweets: You will no longer be able to trigger the modal for blocking via keyboard shortcut on your own Tweets.
Tweets: We will now show the properly localized timezone on the Schedule Tweet page.
Looking for the best antivirus software for Windows XP SP2? Even though XP is old, many still use it, and since Microsoft stopped support, having a reliable antivirus is a must.
We picked the top free options that protect your PC without slowing it down. Let’s find the right one for you.
Another great antivirus for Windows XP SP2 is Malwarebytes. Keep in mind that newer versions of Malwarebytes aren’t supported by Windows XP, however, the company is still releasing security updates for older versions.
Regarding the software, it will remove all types of malware and viruses with ease, and thanks to real-time protection, it will stop any infection before it causes any damage.
Malwarebytes is light on your resources, so you won’t even notice that it’s running, which makes it perfect for older computers.
It comes with advanced shields that will keep all vulnerable software and system safe from any type of exploits.
Malwarebytes also creates the first line of defense in real-time by blocking malicious website before you can access them, keeping you protected in advance.
Malwarebytes
Protect yourself from attacks that threaten your personal information, files and financial well-being.
AVG is a trusted solution that combines artificial intelligence with crowdsourced data from millions of users to stay ahead of hackers.
The tool tells you about unsafe web pages and links, blocks dangerous attachments and possible malware, and updates its definitions in real-time to keep your PC safe.
Also, note that AVG is very quiet and runs in the background without slowing down your Windows XP computer.
AVG continues to protect Windows XP customers by releasing updated virus definitions and software updates for AVG Internet Security.
Windows XP users continue to benefit from up-to-date protection against viruses, malware, and other threats, but they should be aware that the risks of using an unsupported operating system increase over time.
AVG Internet Security
Windows XP is no longer supported, so you need to consider enjoying third-party protection.
Just like Malwarebytes, Webroot also has a legacy version that is still compatible with Windows XP SP2. The software is incredibly fast, and up to 60 times faster than other antivirus software, according to the developers.
The software is lightweight, and it doesn’t store antivirus definitions on your PC, instead, it will store them in the cloud, so they won’t take any of your storage space.
The software offers real-time protection against all types of malware, but it will block phishing websites, malicious websites, and all types of ransomware with ease.
Webroot Internet Security Plus provides cloud-based online threat protection for all your devices, protecting you no matter how you connect or where you are.
It scans faster, uses less system resources, and protects you in real time by identifying and blocking new threats as soon as they emerge.
Webroot Internet Security
All the protection you need for safely browsing the web.
This security software is designed to work on all versions of Windows, and according to the developers, Windows XP is still supported. In terms of security, this antivirus will protect you from all types of malware and ransomware.
360 Total Security uses 360 Cloud Scan Engine, 360 QVMII AI Engine, QEX, and Kunpeng engine to protect you from all types of malware.
360 Total Security also has privacy protection in terms of webcam protection and keylogger blocking, as well as online shopping protection that will keep your online transactions secure.
With multiple engine protection, you are sure that no threat will touch any of your sensitive and private data.
You are safe all around, from internet and privacy protection to WiFi checkups and additional security to even tune-up tools to speed up your computer.
Although Windows XP SP2 isn’t officially supported by Microsoft, there are still a handful of antivirus applications that work with it.
Are you still using Windows XP? Let us know in the comments section what is your antivirus software of choice.
Wrapping up
While Windows XP SP2 is no longer supported by Microsoft, protecting your PC remains crucial. The antivirus tools listed here offer reliable security without slowing down your system, making them ideal for older machines.
Don’t forget to keep your PC running smoothly with trusted optimization tools and additional antimalware software for layered protection. Stay safe and share your favorite antivirus in the comments below!
Bitdefender recently launched a Bitdefender BOX version, upgrading the previous release.
This new cybersecurity hub for the smart home brings more power, more storage as well as a bevy of new features and options.
Bitdefender BOX 2 adds support for dual gigabit Ethernet, enhances Wi-Fi power, and uses advanced machine learning algorithms combined with intrusion and prevention systems to quickly detect threats and nip attacks in the bud.
This Wi-Fi security solution combines hardware, cloud, and software to protect all IoT devices, including those that have absolutely no built-in security features.
Bitdefender BOX 2 – secure all your IoT devices
This tool monitors and secures all the devices connected to your Wi-Fi network. There is no need to use multiple Wi-Fi protection tools on each and every device – Bitdefender BOX 2 has got your back.
Moreover, Bitdefender confirmed that BOX 2 protects your mobile devices even when you are away from home.
Smart devices and intelligent gadgets are becoming more and more popular, and hackers are aware of that. IoT security is a very hot topic, as many reports already confirmed that smart devices are extremely vulnerable to threats.
Therefore, purchasing the Bitdefender BOX 2 is a must if you want to stay one step ahead of cyber attackers. In our opinion, along with the Cujo, it is one of the best IoT home firewall devices to have.
Bitdefender BOX 2 key features include:
Management for all the devices in your Home Network from a single mobile app.
Parental controls to monitor your kids’ online activities and manage screen time.
Fully compatible with your Home Network
Maximum Internet Speed – rest assured, this tool won’t affect your Internet speed in any way.
Includes a 1-year subscription to Bitdefender Total Security. For more information, this antivirus solution, check out our review.
Destiny 2 is an awesome free-to-play online game enjoyed by millions of players in the whole world.
If you’ve played any online game before, you probably know already about lagging, packet loss, and geo-restrictions and how using a VPN can help you overcome them.
On the other hand, a worrying amount of users talk about how using a VPN can get you banned from Destiny 2.
In our guide we’ll help you learn more about this topic and how to avoid getting banned in Destiny 2.
Does using a VPN get you banned in Destiny 2?
Long story short, using a VPN doesn’t and shouldn’t get you banned if you’re using it to play Destiny 2.
Bungie’s Terms of Service forbid you from using any third-party tool that may help you get the upper edge in a game.
These tools include, but are not limited to trainers, mods, autofire, aimbots, and anything else that modifies the game to give you an unfair advantage.
Therefore, if you’re not doing anything shady with your VPN, there’s no reason for you to receive a Destiny 2 ban.
However, it’s worth mentioning that a lot of players complain about VPN users in-game.
Apparently, during PVP, where latency is best kept at a minimum, VPN players can inadvertently make other players lag.
This, in turn, could give them an advantage as well as an opportunity to increase their frags at the expense of other players’ loss.
The detection rate of an antivirus product is only one aspect of its entire security suite offering.
An antivirus detection rate helps you block, delete, and/or warn you about the possibility of malware and other suspicious activity in your computer.
There are security software tools that deliver various scans to successfully find and eliminate threats that can damage your device, including viruses, malware, ransomware, and other types of cyber threats.
Thus, most of these best antivirus with the highest detection rates listed here have passed the test with amazing results.
What’s the best antivirus software with a high detection rate?
TotalAV is an antivirus software with a top-notch detection rate that successfully protects your device against damaging threats and viruses.
It has a WebShield feature that defends your PC against phishing and scam websites that are created to harm your device, compromise security, and steal your personal data.
TotalAV helps you block annoying ads, pop-ups, and notifications that fill up the screen when you’re browsing your favorite sites.
You can schedule smart scans to run at your preferred time and guarantee that your system remains safe all the time.
TotalAV
Monitor your device with TotalAV and eliminate any harmful threats that can compromise your security.
This antivirus has scored one award after another earning top marks when it comes to tests on antivirus with the highest detection rate in comparison to the industry average, which is about 99.7 percent.
While some independent tests may reveal different scores, the Bitdefender detection rate offers 100 percent accuracy.
A spot check across some of the top independent antivirus software reviews shows that Bitdefender scores anywhere between 98 percent to a near-perfect 99.9 percent.
Bitdefender’s Antivirus is one of the best antimalware for Windows 10, with unbeatable cyber-threat detection, optimized performance for speed, and battery life preservation.
Its GravityZone feature – adaptive, layered endpoint security designed for cloud and virtualization – protects from advanced attacks, through its monitoring and hypervisor introspection architecture.
It effectively blocks attacks that most traditional endpoint and next-gen antivirus defenses don’t.
Bitdefender Total Security
Bitdefender remains a big name in the antivirus business, so claim the best deal with no hesitation!
ESET HOME Security Essential is indeed an integrated computer security. It uses AI and in-house developed new technologies to protect you from old and new threats.
We can definitely say about ESET HOME Security Essential that it is an intelligent system, constantly on alert for attacks and malicious software that might endanger your computer.
ESET HOME Security Essential is a complete security solution that combines maximum protection and a minimal system footprint.
Use this antivirus to prevent any infiltration of viruses, spyware, trojan horses, worms, adware, rootkits, and other online threats that can seriously affect your computer safety.
ESET HOME Security Essential
Use one of the best and most modern antivirus solutions from ESET and be sure your PC is well-protected
Avira is another great free security solution that won multiple awards over time, due to its high detection rate and very few false positives during testing.
Avira Antivirus will make your browsing experience faster because it will block annoying ads. It can also analyze your privacy status and inform you of any privacy threats.
In addition, the software will analyze your home network and let you know if there are any security vulnerabilities that you need to address.
Emsisoft Anti-Malware does not only recognize all possible threats, but it is also highly rated by almost all test institutes.
Its awesome features and technologies allow detecting even the unknown yet threats. Its price keeps it at the top, so you have the best quality-price ratio.
In the ratings, Emsisoft Anti-Malware is always below Bitdefender which we have written about above. That means that this tool is not behind the biggest security providers.
Even if some giants like Kaspersky and Avast keep users’ opinions focused on them, this tool is constantly improving.
Permanent 4-layer security and Behaviour Blocking allow it to counter basically everything that can attack your system from outside, but also from the inside.
We also have to mention that this tool runs on almost every PC hardware configuration as it is well-optimized, and its price right now is great.
Panda has been recognized by independent reviewing labs, recently by Virus Bulletin, a global leader in testing security for the prevention, detection, and elimination of malware and spam.
To this end, it is one of the best antiviruses with the highest detection rate, as ranked at 100 percent, earning a VB100 certificate in their most comparative test.
It is the first and only antivirus for enterprises that combines advanced protection technologies, and detection and remediation features, to classify 100 percent of running processes on all endpoints.
A unique feature is its contextual intelligence, which the platform uses to reveal patterns of malicious behavior and generate defensive strategies to counter both known and unknown threats.
Panda has been receiving high grades, not just from such a demanding approving agency as VB, but it has also been recognized in the Real World Protection Test for proper functioning and efficiency.
If you as much as getting a 3 percent difference in your antivirus detection rate, it may open doors to possible security breaches of about more than 10,000 infections on a monthly basis.
This is why F-Secure, the best antivirus with the highest detection rate that currently stands at 99.9 percent, gives you the best possible protection against threats.
F-Secure continually builds up the best protection, daily, weekly, monthly, and annually, to offer the best endpoint protection in the world.
It has been proven unarguably, by AV-Test, a leading international and independent service provider in IT security and AV research, who gave F-Secure the Best Protection award for four years in a row.
Features include Protection Service for Business that delivers comprehensive endpoint security for all your devices.
Cloud Protection and Rapid Detection Service monitor your security status 24/7, alerting you of breaches within minutes with a clear action plan.
It is secure, innovative, and straightforward, with seamless cooperation, even as the online threat landscape continuously evolves and changes with threats getting more complex by the day.
Avast Free Antivirus is one of the world’s leading antivirus with the highest detection rate. It has also scored between 99.9 and 100 percent in independent real-world tests.
Avast Free Antivirus has even received top marks in detecting all threats with a 100 percent detection rate.
It is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), with more than 400 million sensors feeding it with big data, and machine learning technology to stay on top of the most evolved malware.
The results of these independent tests show that Avast delivers top security with its free products, so you can enjoy peace of mind and rest assured you will have minimal interference on your PC activities.
It is tested and approved by the most prestigious anti-malware institute and is an award-winning antivirus security tool, with 100 percent certified protection against zero-day threats.
It is the ultimate security for your business as it protects your IP, customer data, business strategy, and everything else including your server, email, and VPN.
Most paid solutions cannot currently provide the protection you need, so this powerful cybersecurity, yet free, antivirus is just what you need for your system.
The Intel Graphics Control Panel enables users to change graphics settings for Intel GPUs. However, some users have reported that Intel Graphics Control Panel is not opening.
This issue can lead to other problems, such as Intel display audio not working therefore it’s crucial that you fix this problem as soon as possible.
Luckily for you, there’s a way to fix this problem, and in this article, we’re going to show you a couple of simple methods that you can use.
How can I fix the Intel Graphics Control Panel not opening?
1. Update your Intel GPU’s driver
First, try updating your Intel GPU’s driver after uninstalling the Intel Graphics Driver package and Graphics Control Panel app via Apps & features.
You can update your Intel driver with driver updater software, which will include options for downloading and automatically installing the latest drivers.
Plus, the whole process works smoothly while updating any driver with almost no input from the user. Hence, manage GPU drivers effortlessly or any other driver on your PC using this software.
2. Manually install the Intel(R) Graphics Control Panel driver on your PC
First, open the Win + X menu in Windows 10 with the Windows key + X hotkey.
Click Device Manager to open that window.
Double-click Software components to open that category.
Next, right-click Intel(R) Graphics Control Panel (or Intel Graphics Command Center) and select Update driver to open the window shown directly below.
Then click the Browse my computer for drivers option.
Click the Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer option.
Select the Intel(R) Graphics Control Panel, and click the Next button.
Thereafter, restart Windows after reinstalling the driver.
NOTE
The above fix is for users who still can’t open the Intel Graphics app after they’ve installed the required DCH drivers on their PC. First, make sure your PC has a suitable Intel DCH driver installed on it.
Some users might only see Generic software listed in Software Components. If so, try right-clicking Generic software and installing the Intel(R) Graphics Control Panel driver as outlined above.
3. Try opening the Intel Graphics Control Panel with alternative methods
Click the Type here to search taskbar button, and then enter Intel in the search box.
Click the Intel Graphics Command Center (Control Panel) search result to launch that app.
If you can’t open the Intel Graphics Control Panel one way, try an alternative method. For example, you can open the Intel Graphics Control Panel with the Ctrl + Alt + F12 hotkey for it.
These are simple workarounds, but they might work if Intel Graphics Control Panel is not opening.
4. Repair and reset the UWP Intel Graphics app
First, press the Windows and I keys at the same time to launch Settings.
Click Apps to open that Settings tab.
Then scroll down to and select your Intel Graphics app.
Click Advanced options to open the buttons in the shot directly below.
Then click the Repair option.
If the Repair option doesn’t do the trick, try pressing the Reset button as well to clear the app’s data.
5. Reinstall your Intel Graphics app
To reinstall an Intel Graphics app, open Apps & features in Settings as outlined for steps one and two of the previous resolution.
Then select your Intel Graphics app in Apps & features.
If a dialog box window pops up asking to open the MS Store, select the Open option.
Then click the Get button within the MS Store app to reinstall Intel Graphics Command Center.
NOTE
The Intel® Graphics Control Panel is no longer available for download at MS Store. Users who need to reinstall the GCP app will have to replace it with the Intel Graphics Command Center.
If Intel Graphics Control panel is not opening, you can also remove it completely using specialized software with a built-in uninstaller. We recommend CCleaner because it will also clean junk files and registry entries.
Then click Additional troubleshooters to open the list shown directly below.
Select Windows Store Apps to click its Run the troubleshooter button.
Thereafter, go through the instructions provided by the troubleshooter to fix detected issues.
Those are some of the potential resolutions for fixing an Intel Graphics Control Panel (Command Center) app that doesn’t open. If the fixes above aren’t enough, however, you can contact support via Intel’s Customer Support page.
Did you manage to find the solution to this issue on your own? If you did, feel free to share it with us in the comments section.
Cyberattacks on corporate firmware have intensified over the past two years, according to a study commissioned by Microsoft.
More than 80% of enterprises have experienced at least one firmware attack in the past two years, but only 29% of security budgets are allocated to protect firmware.
Firms do invest in monitoring network vulnerabilities and scanning techniques; but one of the reasons for the alarming mentioned numbers would be that firmware is more difficult to monitor, Microsoft says.
Why are firmware attacks more appealing for hackers?
In terms of effort, attacks on software are easier to finalize. However, hackers prefer targeting firmware because, if successful, they guarantee access to a company’s credentials and encryption keys. And the damage is considerably more substantial.
Given the increased security measures taken by companies recently, attackers have also invested more time in perfecting their strategies.
As a result, many companies don’t even know they have been exposed to such a security breach so they don’t particularly take appropriate measures.
How to prevent attacks on firmware?
To prevent these types of attacks, enterprises should focus on using Kernel data protection (KDP) and memory encryption solutions. These techniques work by blocking malware from accessing kernel memory.
However, only 36% of businesses invest in hardware-based memory encryption and less than half (46%) are investing in hardware-based kernel protections, the study says.
So companies spend more time and resources on post-attack measures than on designing prevention strategies, which the source rates as outdated methods
The main reason for these trends would be the lack of automation. Consequently, Microsoft proposes a new class of devices called Secured-core PCs, with a zero-trust build core that prevents attacks on firmware from the very beginning.
Secured-core PCs have already been delivered to some companies with positive results. Microsoft has partnered with AMD and Intel to include this technology on their devices.
As a result, more than 100 secured-core devices from brands such as Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, or Panasonic are available on the market today. The number will surely go higher in the near future.
A number of Windows 10 users have reported that their Taskbar has turned white all of a sudden. This isn’t a major issue unless your taskbar icons are gone as well.
There are many issues you can encounter, such as Taskbar not working, but today we’re going to focus on the Taskbar and its color change.
Why is my taskbar suddenly white?
Temporary system glitches can cause this issue to occur.
Your color configuration isn’t correct, so it’s making the taskbar white.
In some rare cases, your regional settings can cause this issue.
Problems in the registry can also affect Taskbar and make it change color.
How do I get rid of the white taskbar?
1. Tweak modes in Personalization settings
Open the Windows settings.
Choose Personalization, then open Colors.
Under Choose your colors, pick Custom.
Toggle both the default Windows mode and default app mode color options until you get the desired result.
2. Check Taskbar color settings
Right-click an empty space on your desktop and select Personalize.
Select the Colors tab in the right-side list.
Toggle On the option Show color on Start, taskbar, and action center.
If you want to choose a specific color, disable the option Automatically pick an accent color from my background. (Having this option disabled will allow Windows to choose a color for your taskbar based on your desktop background)
From the Choose your accent color section, select your preferred color option.
Inside the Settings window, select the Time & Language option.
Click on Region and select a location in which Cortana is not available (examples include Gabon, Senegal, Samoa, Taiwan, etc.)
Click the Start button, next click on your profile picture and select Sign out.
Log back into your account.
Follow steps 1,2, and 3 of this method to re-set your Region settings to the default setting.
4. Registry tweak
Press Windows + R keys on your keyboard, type regedit in the Run box and pressEnter.
Inside the Registry Editor, open this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search\Flighting\0\WhiteSearchBox
Double-click on the Value key inside the right panel and set the value to 0.
Press Ok.
Restart your PC.
Note: Please make sure that you create a restore point before changing any values inside the Registry Editor. Changing the values in the Registry without proper guidance can render your system unusable.
In this article, we explored a quick fix for issues caused by your taskbar turning white in Windows 10. Please make sure to follow the steps in the order that they were written to avoid causing any issues.
This isn’t the only issue you can encounter, and many reported that Windows 10 Taskbar icons are missing, however, we covered that in a separate guide.
We would love to know if this guide helped you. Please let us know by using the comment section below.
Have you ever wanted to change keyboard shortcuts on Windows 10 to something else? In the past the process of remapping keys or keyboard shortcuts usually involved downloading a difficult-to-use third-party application. Now, the process is a a whole lot easier with PowerToys, a Microsoft application that you can use to make any key on your keyboard act like any other key—and even remap keyboard shortcuts.
Remap any key
With PowerToys, it’s easy to remap any key to another key or even change a keyboard shortcut combination. If you don’t already have PowerToys installed, you can download it for free directly from its GitHub page. Once installed, follow these steps.
1. Open PowerToys
2. Toggle on the Keyboard Manager
3. Choose Remap a key
4. Choose the plus button (+) as shown to add a new key mapping
At this point, you will need to choose a key that you want to remap in the “Key” field and what you want the key remapped to in the “Mapped To” field. For this example, I am going to use Scroll Lock as a replacement for Paste on Windows 10. Keep in mind you can choose the key that you want to remap by choosing it from the drop down menu or by choosing Type and simply typing out the key you want to use.
In the “Mapped To” field, I will enter the Paste keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + V) as I want to remap Scroll Lock to act as the Paste command any time I press the key.
Once you are finished making your selections for the key remapping, Choose OK to confirm. At this point you will see a pop-up message confirming your key remapping selection. Choose Continue Anyway to confirm the key remapping.
That’s it! You’re finished. Now as long as PowerToys is running, any time I press Scroll Lock, the key will act as the Paste shortcut on my Windows 10 PC. Now in Keyboard Manager in PowerToys, you will see the key remap that you created.
Delete a key remap
Deleting a key remap is easy. All you need to do is go to Keyboard Manager in PowerToys and click the “Remap a key” button to take you to the list key remaps.
Once there, click the trash icon and press OK to confirm.
The key you remapped will be removed. Now, you can create a new key remap using the guide above or exit PowerToys completely.
Do you use any other PowerToys utilities on Windows 10? Let us know in the comments!
Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud) technology has reached an important new milestone with the new support for original Xbox and Xbox 360 games. Until now, only select Xbox One games were playable on Android devices via Microsoft’s cloud gaming technology, but that’s changing starting today with a selection of 16 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games.
“We’ve listened to the feedback, going all the way back to our earliest cloud gaming preview, and making games from previous generations available on mobile devices has been one of the most requested features by the community,” the Xbox team explained. Fable II, Fallout: New Vegas, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion are among the new Backward Compatible games playable with Xbox Cloud Gaming starting today, and you can find the full list below:
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Tooie
Double Dragon Neon
Fable II
Fallout: New Vegas
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War: Judgment
Jetpac Refuelled (touch controls enabled)
Kameo
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark Zero
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Viva Piñata (touch controls enabled)
Viva Piñata: TIP (touch controls enabled)
The Xbox team said today that more OG Xbox and Xbox 360 games will be cloud-enabled soon. Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently only available with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which also includes Xbox Game Pass for Console, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Live Gold. Over 100 Xbox games are currently cloud-enabled, with many of them supporting touch controls on Android phones and tablets.
When Command Prompt appears, enter the following lines and press Enter after each line in order to run it: bootrec.exe/rebuildbcdbootrec.exe/fixmbrbootrec.exe/fixboot
Some users are also suggesting that you need to run additional chkdsk commands as well.
To perform these commands, you need to know drive letters for all your hard drive partitions.
In Command Prompt you should enter the following (but remember to use the letters that match your hard drive partitions on your PC): chkdsk /r c:chkdsk/r d:
This is just our example, so keep in mind that you have to perform chkdsk command for every hard drive partition that you have.
Restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.
Corrupt disk sectors or some other hard drive-related problems can easily cause various BSOD issues. Including the SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION error for Windows 10 and Windows 8.
While the steps described above are perfectly capable of solving the issue under discussion, you might find the elevated Command Prompt a bit daunting.
2. Use a third-party BSoD fixer
BSoD errors aren’t that easy to solve manually. You need to find the cause of the problem and then find ways to solve it. There is another way to fix these errors faster and more effectively.
Namely, using a full system repair tool that will resolve Blue Screen issues as we speak. Not only will the software pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with your PC, but it will also fix it for you.
3. Run the BSOD Troubleshooter
Open the Settings app and go to the Update & Security section.
Select Troubleshoot from the menu on the left.
Pick BSOD from the right pane and click Run the troubleshooter.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the troubleshooter.
If updating your drivers didn’t get the job done, we can try Microsoft’s built-in troubleshooter for BSOD errors. This is probably the easiest solution for almost any BSOD issue because it basically solves the problem for you.
4. Update Windows 10 and all your drivers
Blue Screen of Death errors are often caused by hardware and software issues, and in order to avoid them, it’s highly recommended that you update Windows 10 as often as you can.
Microsoft is constantly releasing updates for Windows 10 via Windows Update, so be sure to download them.
Many of these updates fix certain hardware and software glitches, therefore if you wish to avoid BSoDs, we strongly suggest that you keep Windows 10 up to date.
In addition to downloading Windows 10 updates, it’s just as important to update your drivers. Windows 10 utilizes your drivers in order to communicate with your hardware.
If a certain driver is out of date, or just not compatible with Windows 10, you’ll probably get a BSoD error such as SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION. To fix these types of errors you have to update all your drivers.
Updating drivers is relatively simple, and you can do it simply by visiting your hardware manufacturer’s website and downloading the latest drivers for your device.
While downloading drivers, be sure to download drivers for all major hardware components.
4.1 Update drivers automatically
Searching for drivers on your own can be time-consuming. So, we advise you to use a tool that will do this for you automatically.
Using an automatic driver updater will certainly save you from the hassle of searching for drivers manually, and it will always keep your system up to date with the latest drivers.
5. Run the SFC scan
Right-click on the Start Menu button, and open Command Prompt (Admin).
Enter the following line and press Enter:sfc/scannow
Wait until the process is done (it may take a while).
If the solution is found, it will automatically be applied.
Now, close the Command Prompt and restart your computer.
The next thing we’re going to try is the SFC scan. This is a command-line tool that scans your computer for potential issues and resolves them.
So, it might be helpful when dealing with the SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION error, as well.
6. Run DISM
Right-click Start and open Command Prompt (Admin).
Paste the following command and press Enter: DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth
Wait until the scan is finished.
Restart your computer and try updating again.
Standard way
The third troubleshooting tool we’re going to try is DISM. As its name says, Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) reloads the system image, resolving some potential problems on the way.
We’ll walk you through both standard and the procedure that utilizes the installation media below:
With the Windows installation media
Insert your Windows installation media.
Right-click the Start menu and, from the menu, choose the Command Prompt (Admin).
In the command line, type the following commands and press Enter after each: dism/online/cleanup-image/scanhealthdism/online/cleanup-image/restorehealth
Now, type the following command and press Enter: DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth/source:WIM:X:SourcesInstall.wim:1/LimitAccess
Make sure to change an X value with the letter of the mounted drive with the Windows 10 installation.
After the procedure is finished, restart your computer.
7. Install a Windows optimizer
You could simply use a third-party tool to check your hard drives and detect and repair any issues on the spot without the hassle.
Windows optimizer software will free up precious space thus provide with more available memory and allowing you to enjoy faster startup and loading times.
These tools are generally complete tuneups, cleaning, repair, and optimization suites. They can also detect and replace corrupted Windows files, create backups, and more.
Remove junk data, useless temp files, web browsing traces, fix superfluous Registry entries, broken shortcuts, and disable unnecessary services to boost jour PC’s performances.
8. Find and uninstall problematic applications
Sometimes certain applications can cause this error to appear, therefore it’s crucial to find and remove those applications.
It’s worth mentioning that almost any application can cause the Windows 10 system license violation error, so you might have to do some research before you find the problematic one.
You should also know that recently installed or recently updated applications can cause this error too, therefore if you updated or installed any new app before the BSoD error started appearing, uninstall it.
One common cause for Blue Screen of Death errors is your antivirus software. Almost any antivirus software can cause a BSoD error, so be sure to remove any third-party antivirus programs that you have installed.
To completely remove an antivirus program you should use a dedicated removal tool. Many security companies offer these tools for their software, so be sure to download one for your antivirus program.
9. Enter Safe Mode
Start Automatic Repair while restarting your computer during the boot.
Alternatively, you can hold the Shift key and click the Restart button.
When your computer boots, select Safe Mode with Networking or any other version of Safe Mode.
If the problem is caused by certain software, you’ll be able to tell that by entering Safe Mode.
Safe Mode starts only with basic drivers and software, therefore, if your issue is caused by a certain application or a problematic driver, your system should work without any problems in Safe Mode.
10. Perform System Restore / Windows 10 reset
Start Automatic Repair by restarting your computer a few times during the boot.
Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.
Select your username and enter your password and click Continue.
Pick Choose a different restore point, and select a restore point you wish to return to.
Click Next and wait for the process to finish.
According to the users, they managed to fix SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION error by performing System Restore.
If System Restore didn’t fix the issue, you should try performing a Windows 10 reset. This procedure is similar to clean install, therefore be sure to back up all important files from your C partition.
Note: It’s also worth mentioning that you might need a Windows 10 installation media to complete this step, therefore you should use the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB flash drive.
To perform Windows 10 reset, do the following:
Start Automatic Repair.
Choose Troubleshoot > Reset this PC > Remove everything.
If you are asked to insert Windows 10 installation media, be sure to do so.
Select Only the drive where Windows is installed > Just remove my files and click Reset.
Follow the instructions and wait for the reset process to complete.
After the reset, all your installed applications and files will be removed, including any software cause for the BSoD. If the error appears again, it’s most likely that you have faulty hardware.
11. Check for faulty hardware
Your RAM can be the common cause for BSoD errors such as SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION, therefore be sure to test your RAM first.
There are plenty of specialized tools you can use to perform detailed tests of your RAM, so make sure that you download one. If RAM is not the problem, check if other major hardware components are working properly.
Any recently installed hardware can cause these types of issues, especially if it’s not fully compatible with your PC. If you installed any new hardware recently, be sure to remove it or replace it and check if that fixes the error.
SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION BSoD error can be troublesome, but we hope that you managed to fix it by using one of our solutions.
Do share your troubleshooting experience with us via the comments section below.
As more people across the world hurtle towards mobile computing, it is becoming increasingly important for most software products to be loaded with remote control features.
The remote control features enable team collaboration anywhere, and at any time, therefore they are being sought by an increasing number of companies all around the world.
The same goes for security software where antiviruswith remote control management exists to troubleshoot workplace and client issues quickly and securely without moving from your desk.
Remote control also allows for quick and safe connections to machines so as to resolve issues in real-time, which in turn saves you time, money, and stress.
IT admins are able to receive real-time alerts and report on threats, while taking control of their networks’ security from any location, at any time, especially with the many remote workforces across the globe.
Here are our top picks for the best antivirus with remote control management.
What is the best antivirus with remote control management?
With Bitdefender’s tools, you get full visibility into your overall security posture, security threats on a global scale, and control over security services that protect virtual or physical desktops, servers, and mobile devices.
All these are managed through a single console, Control Center, for control, reporting, and alerting services (in companies this is for various roles in the organization).
Through the Device Control module, you can perform remote or manual installs by going to My Bitdefender window, where you can update, start a scan, and register the product, all from the cloud.
Once you open My Bitdefender page, you can find all devices installed with Bitdefender and control it from there.
Notable Bitdefender features:
Great price plan
VPN included
Best Windows compatibility
Awesome customer support
Bitdefender Total Security
Now you can have the remote control management, and you can provide total protection for your PC against malware threats only with Bitdefender!
Panda Remote Control is a tool developed by Panda Security to let you access your computer(s) on your network remotely from a web console.
With this tool, you can troubleshoot issues without being physically present, or, if you’re an agency, you can resolve your clients’ security problems without them having to intervene, and with little if any impact on their activity.
It is available in Panda’s Endpoint Protection, Endpoint Protection Plus, and Adaptive Defense 360 consoles when you buy it, then automatically installs the first time you enable Remote Control option in the settings of the configuration profile for the group that hosts remote computers.
Only users with Total Control or Security Administrator permissions can use it – not users with Monitoring Administrator’s Guide 7 permissions.
You get three options when defining the privacy level to apply when accessing remote computers: Always ask for permission, Just notify, and Allow access without notification.
Notable Panda Dome features:
Real-time monitoring
Personal firewall
Device management
USB Protection
Panda Dome Essential
You can have full protection for your PC against viruses and remote control management with Panda Dome.
AVG’s Managed Workplace 10 comes with integrated advanced security features including expanded remote control functions.
The Premium Remote Control has been enhanced to include ad hoc and on-demand sessions to offer remote support to anyone on the internet without deploying Managed Workplace.
It also has end-user consent feature that respects the privacy of your clients by requesting access to initiate remote control to their devices.
This remote control feature saves clients the cost of purchasing and maintaining a separate remote control solution.
Notable AVG features:
Computer Protection
Web & Email protection
Hacker attacks protection
Privacy protection
AVG Ultimate
Take advantage of remote control feature and secure your PC against all malware threats.
Avast is a leading antivirus with remote control management for smooth running and troubleshooting issues without leaving the comfort of your desk.
The software will keep your PC safe, using a combination of self-improving AI and advanced system protocols to stop any new threats from entering your system and possibly stealing data.
The remote control feature allows the Avast customer support team to access your PC, troubleshoot, and potentially fix problems that proved too difficult for you.
The Premium remote control features include:
Remote administration to remotely connect to any computer and install new software, troubleshoot, switch users, among other tasks
System information to see vital info about the hardware and software
File transfer to send log files and receive software updates to troubleshoot and resolve issues fast and effectively
Session recording, a one-click recording to capture sessions for follow-up and/or training
Maximum security for complete end-to-end encryption to keep your connection safe
Full-featured chat client to stay in touch with customers as you troubleshoot their problems
Avast Premium Security
Get Avast with remote control management for pleasant running and great PC protection from spyware.
All BullGuard products in its comprehensive security suite are designed with your business in mind.
One of the most striking things is its effective and pleasing design, with a simple to navigate and use dashboard interface, and clearly marked features and actions.
It comes with a remote control so you can manage your personal or business information, whether your device is not close by, or even if it gets lost or stolen.
You can choose from BullGuard Premium Protection, BullGuard Internet Security or BullGuard antivirus.
Have you used any of these antivirus with remote control management? Or do you have one that you currently use that’s not listed here? Share with us your experience in the comments section below.
While most modern web browsers require you to install a third-party extension to block ads, the UC Browser comes with a built-in ad blocker. However, several users have reported the UC Browser adblock is not working.
To fix the problem, we have listed a few workarounds to help you resolve this issue once and for all.
How do I fix UC Browser adblock if it’s not working?
1. Use an alternate browser with a built-in adblocker
UC Browser is blocked in a few countries to comply with the region’s local laws. Fortunately, there are alternative browsers like Opera One browser that offer built-in adblocker.
Similar to the UC browser, Opera One blocks all kinds of intrusive ads, loads pages faster, and comes with a filter option to unblock ads from any site you want.
Additionally, Opera One browser offers a free VPN for enhanced privacy and security, built-in messenger apps and snapshot features, video pop-out, battery saver, and even an AI.
Launch UC Browser browser and click the Menu icon from the top menu.
Choose Settings from the options.
From the left pane, click on the Ad Block tab.
Under Block settings, check the Block pop-up window box. You can also change your filter page ads preference.
Close the settings page and relaunch the browser app.
Once the app restarts, check if the ad-block issue is resolved. If the ad-block setting is enabled and UC Browser adblock still is not working, try clearing the browser cache to see if that helps resolve the issue.
Clear browser cache
Click the menu icon and choose Clear browsing data. You can also access it by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Del key on your keyboard.
Choose the data you want to clear and click the Clear data button.
Don’t clear the saved password and other data, as you will have to enter these details when accessing the website again.
Tap the Menu icon represented by three horizontal lines.
Now tap on the Ad Block feature to turn it on.
Optional: Tap on Powerful Ad Blocker for even better ad protection.
Clearing the browser cache will help you resolve any issues that occur due to corrupted data.
3. Reinstall UC Browser
On Android:
Open the Settings menu on your Android device.
Navigate to Apps or Application Manager.
Now select UC Browser and choose Uninstall.
Download the application again.
On Windows:
Open the Settings app. You can do that with Windows Key + I shortcut.
Navigate to the Apps section.
Select UC Browser from the list of installed apps and click on Uninstall.
Once uninstalled, reboot the computer.
After the restart, go to the UC browser download page and download the browser’s latest version.
Install the browser and check if the UC Browser adblock not working issue is resolved.
To completely remove certain applications, it’s better to use a dedicated uninstaller software.
The UC Browser Adblock not working issue may occur due to file corruption. If enabling the adblock option in the setting does not help, consider using an alternative web browser like Opera.
Watch Dogs 2 was long awaited but it was finally launched for PC. Windows PC finally got their hands on the game and play as Marcus, a brilliant young hacker.
Gamers can join the most notorious hacker group, DedSec, and do their best to execute the biggest hack of history.
Watch Dogs 2 fans initially complained about Ubisoft’s decision to delay the PC release of the game.
However, delaying the Watch Dogs 2 PC release was actually a wise decision, taking into account all the issues reported by Xbox One players.
In this manner, Ubisoft bought more time to optimize the game and add some cool new features. However, judging by gamers’ reports, Watch Dogs 2 still needs more optimization on PC.
As always, before purchasing Watch Dogs 2, make sure your computer meets the system requirements for this game.
Unfortunately, even after you check them, you may still encounter some game bugs, as players report. For instance, more users say that Watch Dogs 2 freezes every few seconds.
Users are also complaining about low FPS problems, camera shaking, launch problems, and more so here’s what you can do to fix most of these problems.
How can I fix Watch Dogs 2 PC bugs?
1. Update all drivers
First, don’t forget to update your computer’s drivers as they can be the cause of this problem, especially the graphics card drivers.
For that, you will need to go to the manufacturer’s website and download the corresponding driver for your device.
However, this can be a daunting task for most so we recommend using a dedicated tool to automatically download all the outdated drivers on your PC.
The recommended solution below does the job quickly and safely but the cherry on top is that it can update all your drivers in one go.
2. Terminate background processes
Open Task Manager by right clicking the Start button and choosing it from the menu.
Now examine any process is using an excessive amount of CPU but make sure not to kill any Windows processes as this may turn into a mess.
Unfortunately, the game is not very good in using your CPU properly so even with a good CPU you may have problems.
So however simple it may seem, this solution makes a lot of sense so try it.
NOTE
2. Edit the GameProfile.xlm file
Press Windows key + E to start File Manager.
Locate the Watch Dogs 2 game profile. You will usually find it in the following location: C:\Users\[user]\Documents\My Games\Watch_Dogs 2
Find the WD2_GamerProfile.xml file, right-click on it and open it with Notepad.
Search for DeferredFxQuality using Ctrl+F. You should see it highlighted in its complete form: DeferredFxQuality=console
Change console with pc.
Save the document and exit.
Right click the file again and select Properties.
Check the read only box from the bottom and exit.
This procedure may also help you in fixing any problems in running Watch Dogs 2 so make sure you try it.
3. Run the game in Compatibility mode
Open File Explorer as shown in the previous solution.
Locate the Watchdogs2.exe file. Usually, you can find it in the following location: C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Watch_Dogs2\bin
Right-click the exe file and select Properties.
Click the Compatibility tab and select Windows 7 from the drop-down menu.
Click Apply and OK to save the changes.
This procedure will help you fix the lag and stuttering problems you may have in the game so make sure to try it out.
Running the program as administrator may also help fix any problems is starting the game.
4. Disable the page file check
Start File Manager by pressing Windows key + E.
Go to the Watch Dogs 2 folder and look for the exe file. Again, you should find it at the following path: C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Watch_Dogs2\bin
Right-click the executable file and select Properties.
Click on Set launch options and enter the following text: -disablepagefilecheck
Some users say that they fixed Watch Dogs 2 issues by doing this procedure so make sure you try it out.
5. Change graphics settings
Lowering or simply turning off some of the graphics settings of the game can improve the performance of the game. Some of them mai increase the FPS dramatically.
To play with the graphics settings go into the game’s Settings, then select Video and Quality, them tweak the various options.
Changing the Ambient Occlusion, Geometry, Shadows and Extra Details will influence the game’s performance so play with the settings until you find the correct ballance.
As you can see, despite Ubisoft’s best efforts, Watch Dogs 2 is still affected by many issues on PC. However, the general solutions provided here will fix most of the issues.
Have you installed Watch Dogs 2 on your PC? Use the comment section below to tell us more about your experience.
Are you interested in antiviruses with free VPN? Or maybe you prefer security combined with anonymity while surfing the web? Look no further, this post is meant just for you.
Meanwhile, an active VPN protects you from hackers and masks your activities from the prying eyes of ISPs’.
It also enables your device to appear as if you are physically located with the VPN server. Hence, your true location becomes hidden.
We are going to pass through some of the best Antiviruses that offer a VPN service included in their plan.
Can I use an antivirus with VPN?
Antivirus and VPN can definitely work together and it is a great idea to use them both because they protect different things in different ways.
The main difference is that antivirus programs safeguard your devices from all types of online – and offline – threats including viruses and malware, while VPN services protect your online privacy by masking your IP address and encrypting your online activity information.
These two services are the ideal combination to maintain your security level high while protecting your device with a single provider.
TotalAV is an antivirus with a free VPN included that protects your online activity, whether you’re shopping, paying bills, or accessing emails.
It helps you leave no digital footprints, making your activities anonymous and impossible to track by encrypting your connection.
It has two strong protocols available, OpenVPN and IKEv2, that allow you to customize for enhanced privacy or better speed scores.
TotalAV can check your downloads and installs for viruses and threats every time your PC accesses them. It can protect your device against fake, scam, and phishing websites that are created to harm your PC, compromise security and steal your personal data.
Take a look at other key features of TotalAV:
Block unlimited ads
Schedule smart scans
Data breach monitoring
Block tracking cookies
Multi-device compatibility
TotalAV
Excellent antivirus and VPN solution to keep your device secure and protected all the time.
This new-age antivirus is the most suitable choice in terms of VPN online security and antivirus capabilities at the moment.
You can rest assured regarding the reliability of Bitdefender, as it offers accountable virus-free technology that can stop any advanced malware or data breach attack.
Some users may wonder about the functionality of the software. Well, this leading antivirus passed multiple independent tests analyzing its malware detection and removal, or impact on the PC.
Regarding the VPN, you have daily traffic you can use to secure your online confidential data and browse on any search engine with no worry.
Lastly, we encourage you to give it a try and enjoy complete freedom from spyware or hackers, or any kind of virus threats.
Avira Phantom VPN secures the web browsing of so many devices. The subscription for Avira software starts at a decent price so you may consider this option.
The free version of Avira does not include the Kill Switch feature, which obstructs your apps from communicating with the internet in case your VPN gets disconnected.
Technical support is also not available for the free version. Avira Phantom VPN keeps your devices protected against several network threats.
If you’re looking to unlock Netflix content from other countries, you definitely need to know that you can do that with this tool.
Let’s look at this solution’s best features:
Avira subscription allows you to protect many devices at the same time
Users of Windows OS make use of the VPN protocol (OpenVPN) – it is fast, new, secure, and open-source
Avira contains the Kill Switch with DNS protections
Avira ensures that no one monitors your DNS requests
This subscription service is easy to use
It enables BitTorrent and P2P
The data logging policy is unique
Avira Phantom
Ready to enhance your online security? Try Avira Phantom VPN today and unlock a world of possibilities!
Norton has been in the antivirus industry for a very long time.
It had its up and downs and users from several years ago can easily remember how difficult it was to use it. It had a bad interface; it was very annoying with a lot of notifications and so on.
All of that is in the past now and only the name remains: Norton 360 – it is the same as an older product but other than that, they have nothing else in common.
It looks very good, it provides top-notch protection from viruses, malware, and spyware and it doesn’t impact the performance of your computer.
The VPN that is included, comes with unlimited bandwidth and a no-log policy that we found to be very useful.
All of these features are included in any plan you choose. However, we must point out two things. If you have kids, getting the Deluxe version will also provide you with Parental Control functionality which is very useful.
Also, if you plan on using a VPN all the time, like you should, getting Norton 360 Deluxe makes more sense because you can install it on 5 different devices.
A Norton360 license comes with multiple benefits that we like include:
A really good antivirus
VPN
Password Manager
PC SafeCam
Cloud Backup storage
Norton 360
Experience top-notch protection against viruses, malware, and spyware. Enjoy peace of mind with advanced security features.
AVG software is an all-in-one package. It is very compatible with Windows OS. It effectively protects devices against online threats.
This is not only an antivirus that offers a VPN, but you will also find that it will boost the system performance of your PC.
It’s true that it doesn’t offer the best malware protection and the VPN has only limited features but the prices are reflecting that so you might consider it.
Look at some of the best features of this solution:
It optimizes the speed of your system
Great storage zones for sensitive files
Great price
It has a well-integrated interface
AVG
Protect your devices against online threats while boosting your system performance.
Avast Premium Security offers VPN security to your device. It ensures supreme privacy, secure connection, and speed for your device.
This tool comes with DNS leak protection, peer-to-peer support, and always a secure connection.
By using this VPN, your online activity will be always hidden from everybody, even from your ISP so you will have the perfect privacy protection wherever you are.
Of course, the VPN provided with the antivirus doesn’t offer as many servers as a dedicated one, but it will still provide you with the technology to conceal and protect your identity.
Let’s see some of its key features:
Affordable pricing
DNS leak protection
Open-source technology for the Windows operating system
Unsecured networks and public Wi-Fi are protected
Peer-to-peer support
A secure connection is guaranteed
Choice can be made from several speedy servers around the world
Your online activities can be hidden from advertisers, employers, and governments
Avast Premium Security
Enjoy supreme privacy, a secure connection, and fast speeds while browsing.
This is certainly one of the best free antivirus programs available. It has a proprietary Defense+ technology that usually assumes an unknown file is a potential threat which makes it almost 100% effective.
It is compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 10 Vista. A lot of antivirus programs assume unknown files are safe and only get concerned about files that have proven to be a problem.
Comodo definitions complete database is updated almost every day. Always, check the Summary date for the last update. It can be updated offline.
Let’s see what are Comodo’s key features:
Contains a full range of detection engines for spyware, viruses, rootkits, and other malware
Offers protection from all sources of infection like games, email, IM, etc
Can block malicious websites by scanning URLs
Optionally provides added security by using Comodo’s free DNS servers on your computer
Minimal usage of system resources
Multi-layered protection (HIPS, Sandbox, AV, and Firewall)
It has a neat user interface and attractive GUI skins
Ready to try one of the best free antiviruses with VPNs? If you want a dedicated VPN instead, we have an excellent list of the best Windows 10 VPNs to check out.
Share your favorite pick in the comments section below and tell us about your experience.
Just when you thought that every major social media platform under the sun had finished announcing some kind of Clubhouse-esque audio broadcast feature, Microsoft steps in and confirms that they’re also testing such functionality with LinkedIn.
“We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity,” LinkedIn’s Suzi Owens told TechCrunch earlier today. “And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community.”
A mockup of what the audio room experience could look like was provided to TC from LinkedIn and, as expected, it looks remarkably similar to the UI used on Clubhouse with active speakers displayed at the top of the screen and listeners shown underneath.
LinkedIn Voice Rooms mockup provided by LinkedIn via TechCrunch
Of course, this image is just a mockup and the final release will likely look different as the functionality and UI is refined and tested.
Clubhouse became incredibly popular a few months ago as it opened up its platform to more users and began hosting live audio discussions by celebrities and popular media personalities. It began to experience stiff competition from more established networks almost immediately, however, with Twitter already testing its own communal audio broadcast feature, Twitter Spaces, at the time of Clubhouse’s launch and Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and even Spotify announcing similar plans for audio broadcasting soon after.
Telegram, the mega-popular privacy-focuses messaging app with over 500 million users, stepped up its group audio feature earlier this month with an update across all of its supported platforms that enabled audio chats with literally millions of potential listeners.
While Clubhouse has been getting a lot of buzz, it’s still restricting itself to an invite-only form of user signups and is limited to an app that’s available only on iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Telegram, meanwhile, already has hundreds of millions of active users and offers apps on all of the main platforms.
Microsoft’s LinkedIn social network is in a similarly strong position to dominate Clubhouse with over 750 million users as of February this year and apps on iOS, Android, and Windows. LinkedIn also has a userbase that’s remarkably similar to that now on Clubhouse which has attracted entrepreneurs, business owners, recruiters, and marketers. It’ll be interesting to see how many make the jump back to LinkedIn whenever it activates this new feature in the months ahead.
What do you think? Are you curious to see what LinkedIn’s voice feature looks like? Do you think it’ll dominate Clubhouse? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more Microsoft news.
The new Halo Moa Burger T-shirt was added to the official Xbox merch storefront very recently and pre-orders are now open with an expected ship time of three to four weeks from now.
In addition to the Moa Burger T-shirt, the Xbox Gear Shop has also recently added a new Gears of War standee, new Halo socks, and a variety of new Xbox merch such as an Xbox Achievement light, Xbox socks, and some Xbox playing cards.
In January 2021 Adobe has permanently disabled the Flash Player which has had a lot of impact on many other services.
Since the HP Solution center is based on Flash, it’s not uncommon for it to stop functioning, and not be able to continue printing your documents, as many users reported it happened.
We will explore in this article the exact steps you need to make in order to fix the Hp flash error and ensure full functionality once again, so make sure to keep on reading.
How can I fix the HP Solution Center Flash error?
1. Use a specialized software
Before proceeding with any other step, we would recommend that you first ensure the drivers are not outdated or faulty, using specialized software.
2. Install Print Management console
Go to the Search box and type in Features.
Next, open Manage Optional Features and click on Add a Feature.
Type Print Management and next, open and install Print Management.
After doing that, check if the HP Solution Center Flash error is still there.
3. Reinstall HP printer software
Disconnect the cable from the printer.
Open the Settings app and navigate to the Apps section.
In this opened list, locate the HP Printer and click on Uninstall.
Follow the on screen instructions to complete the process.
After the process is complete, restart your device.
Finally reinstall the HP printer.
After doing that, the HP Solution Center Flash error will be gone. Keep in mind that this process might leave certain files behind, so to completely remove the software it’s advised to use a specialized tool.
Windows apps are notorious for being difficult to uninstall completely. Those ugly residues consuming disk space and the registry may be rather difficult, thus expert removal software is strongly suggested.
It’s a safe and easy approach to maintain your system clean and running. So why not spare yourself the hassle and use an automated option that applies a clean code to make room for a fresh installation?
4. Open the HP Solution Center
There is no direct downloadable link for the HP Solution Center since it’s built-in software that will be downloaded on your device when you install the HP driver.
To locate the HP Solution Center on your device, go to the search bar and type in HP. Click on the displayed result, and once you’ve done that, the Solution Center will automatically open.
This is about all. As you can see the HP solution center flash error can be a frustrating issue but it can also be solved quickly, in just a few easy steps.
We hope that one of the steps presented above has helped you fix the HP Solution Center. Please let us know in the comments section below which solution worked best for you, we would love to know.
When looking for new software, the average user will always go for whatever is faster, more lightweight, affordable, and feature-rich, so software developers are in a constant arms race to enhance their products.
The same can be said about the video editor market, as they are evolving to have friendlier UIs, an easier learning curve, and, if possible, not require a next-gen PC to run, which isn’t easy given the nature of such software.
Well, today we will be looking over a video editor slightly different from all the others, called Fastreel by Movavi.
What makes this video editor particularly intriguing is that it is 100% a web app, meaning there is nothing to download on your PC.
If we’ve managed to catch your attention, continue reading below about all the features, pros, and cons of Fastreel, and decide for yourself whether it is your next investment in multimedia editing.
Is Fastreel worth it?
Fastreel’s features
A 100% online tool
First and foremost, Fastreel’s best feature is the fact that all of its resources are online, which means that users have nothing to install on their PCs, and access can be done from any updated web browser.
This in itself also eliminates the need for anything resembling system resources, since as long as your PC can run the browser you are accessing Fastreel from, it will run Fastreel smoothly as well.
This feature makes the service accessible to anyone with a stable Internet connection, even if their PCs are considered average or even below.
All the tools that you’d expect from a video editor
Because of the online nature of the service, you’d believe that the video editor is not all that feature-rich since that is the nature of web apps in general.
However, when it comes to sheer editing, Fastreel was a surprise since it had all the tools needed to create online videos, regardless of whether it was something complex like making a slideshow with added audio or simply cropping a video.
The service will not grant you access to a single UI where the tools are accessible. Each feature can be accessed separately, having its UI and workflow.
Here are all the online tools currently available on Fastreel:
Create a slideshow
Make a video from clips and photos
Compress a video
Cut a video
Crop a video
Change video speed
Merge videos
Mute a video
Reverse a video
Add music to a video
Rotate a video by 180 degrees
Resize a video
Flip a video vertically or horizontally
Loop a video
Add text to a video
Make a stop-motion clip
Add a watermark to protect your videos
Make a video collage
Make a split-screen video
Add filters to change the color palette of your clips
Add subtitles
Each tool is accessed separately, and the interface is similar across them all for familiarity when using multiple tools.
If you’re interested in performing multiple tasks on a single video, there’s no need to upload the video, edit it, download it, and then upload it again to use the other tools.
This is all thanks to a feature that saves your work in the cloud, and transitioning from one online tool to another is simply a matter of pushing a button.
Online templates make everything easier
Besides the fact that the service is completely online, another thing that would normally limit the number of customers for a video editor is having a UI that is too cluttered with features and options.
Fastreel eliminates that issue by giving you access to entire libraries of templates to choose from, basically doing half of the job for you, whichever project you are on.
These templates come in the form of built-in transitions, music, and fonts; all you need to do is add your files and change the text.
These templates come in handy when you create job-related projects, vlogs, YouTube tutorials, and even serious content like business videos, and this is all thanks to the wide palette of available templates.
The templates are further organized into categories, so whatever your needs, there is already something there done for you:
Marketing and Business
Social Media
Education
Festive
Love
Family
Hobby
Is Fastreel affordable?
Not only is Fastreel affordable, they also have a 100% free subscription plan, with the only limitation being that any videos edited and exported will have a watermark on them.
Other than that, any free user can test out all the online tools, templates, and other features that Fastreel as offers without any other kind of limitations, so the free plan is a great stepping stone towards the paid one.
Speaking of paid plans. Movavi’s Fastreel is quite accessible in terms offering:
Single Premium – $5.95/Video
Unlimited Premium – 19.95/Month or $9.95/Month if you choose to be billed annually.
Movavi Fastreel
Video editors that are lightweight and accessible to beginners exist, and Fastreel from Movavi is one of them!
You can upload photos, videos, and audio to create your movies
Cons
The video duration is up to 30 minutes
Your videos are only available for 24 hours
As far as ease of access agoes, Fastreel from Movavi scored the highest marks since it’s rare to be able to use a fully-equipped video editor without actually having to install a fully-equipped video editor.
That being said, if you are looking for a service that will allow you to create fantastic home content for both business and pleasure, Fastreel has everything you need, and it’s only one web browser away.
Have you tried Movavi’s Fastreel yet? Let us know your thoughts about the service by leaving your feedback in the comments section below.
Knowing which antivirus to invest in to protect your personal or office data and devices from potential threats can be tricky if you don’t get to test drive it first.
While there are free download versions for most, if not all, antivirus software, getting antivirus for one year free is a steal.
What’s even better is getting the best antivirus for one year free, so you can run it on your devices and see its features at work before updating to a paid version.
We checked out the top for up to 1-year free antivirus software solutions and here are our favorite picks.
Is there a 100% free antivirus?
Yes, there are plenty of 100% free antiviruses, some of which we will talk about in the list below. Most of them have subscription plans but they also offer a free alternative with fewer features.
A free antivirus will provide you with basic security and threat protection, so for a simple home PC. If you want an antivirus for work or business, we recommend you choose a subscription plan.
A premium antivirus comes with additional layers of security. From included VPN or ad blocker to different types of browsing protection features.
What is the best free antivirus for up to one year?
TotalAV’s free version gives you on-demand scanning to find and remove malware, with no time limit, which is more than most trials offer. It does not include real-time protection, so it suits a check-up rather than full-time defence.
Upgrading adds real-time protection, WebShield for phishing and malicious sites, the tune-up tools, and in the higher plans a VPN, an ad blocker and a password vault. One subscription covers Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.
Free on-demand scanner with no time limit
Real-time protection and WebShield in the paid plans
Tune-up tools included
VPN, ad blocker and password vault in the higher plans
One subscription for several devices
TotalAV
Get the best modern antivirus, a complete security solution that you can test before buying.
Bitdefender is hailed for its all-around, continuous, and powerful protection against sophisticated threats whether for home or business use.
While using this antivirus you get to enjoy on-demand and on-access virus scanning and removal, and advanced threat detection using its behavioral detection that monitors your active apps.
Bitdefender offers unbeatable real-time protection by using innovative technologies that predict, prevent, and detect most cyber threats before they can harm your computer.
Moreover, the unlimited and secure VPN keeps your privacy and all you do online private. Hide your IP within seconds and you will be untraceable for the time being.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
It also comes with an anti-phishing feature that sniffs and blocks websites that pose as trustworthy to steal your data
Anti-fraud advanced filtering system that warns when you visit scam websites
Multi-layer ransomware protection
Advanced webcam protection extended to all your devices
If system resources aren’t an issue, running the system scan in high priority mode can be a useful option for scanning your PC.
By complying with this requirement, Bitdefender allocates comparable system resources to other programs instead of directly competing with them.
Bitdefender Total Security
Want the best security against all Internet threats? Bitdefender is your best bet.
Another great antivirus that you can get for free is Avira Antivirus. The Free version of this tool can detect and remove both malware and ransomware from your PC.
In addition, Avira Antivirus will also block ads and make your browsing experience faster. Avira Antivirus can also analyze your privacy status and let you know if there are any privacy threats.
The software will analyze your home network and let you know if there are any security vulnerabilities that you need to address.
In addition to these features, the free version of Avira can also update your software and work as a basic password manager.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
Protection against malware and ransomware
Phishing protection
Password manager
Identify theft protection
Besides being a reliable and comprehensive cybersecurity app, our free VPN also protects your privacy. In addition, it has tools that can clean your PC.
Moreover, it will block all ads while you are online, so you won’t see those pesky ads anymore.
Avira Free Antivirus
Use a comprehensive cybersecurity solution to protect your computer that is also free.
This antivirus pools advanced protection technologies, detection, and remediation features, to classify all your running processes on all endpoints from a centralized platform.
You can control and manage your systems from your home, office, or remote locations, plus protect all your devices against all forms of malware and spam.
Wherever you are, you are protected with WiFi security options to keep you safe from hackers. Stay safe when connecting to any public WiFi.
Additionally, use the free VPN to keep you anonymous online, keep your children safe with advanced parental controls and manage all your passwords from one software.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
Antispam protection modules
Contextual intelligence is used to reveal patterns of malicious behavior and generate defensive strategies to counter any threats
Easy to use and maintain and minimizes resource usage
Gives guaranteed service availability, and constant system monitoring
Panda Dome will protect your PC even when not connected to the internet by proactively scanning any USB or external device plugged into it.
Parental control solutions allow you to block, limit the time or limit the use of apps and mobile devices. Receive notifications when your child leaves or arrives at preset zones.
Panda Dome
Combine cloud scanning with advanced disinfector capacities to shield your PC.
Kaspersky has evolved over the years and now offers easy management from a cloud-based console.
With this antivirus, you get endpoint security, strong protection, easy management, and multi-layered protection with enhanced mobile security and device management.
Protect your browsing, shopping, chats, and all sensitive data across all your platforms with award-winning software that also provides tools to guard your privacy.
Stay safe wherever you are with anti-hacking, real-time protection and prevention of any attempts to steal your data.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
Security center that detects and remediates threats
Fraud Prevention tool for proactive detection of cross-channel fraud in real-time
APT Intelligence features to deliver comprehensive practical reporting so you are always in the know, and/or aware of high-profile, targeted attacks
Browsing security to enhance your privacy by scrambling your history and online data while blocking webcam spies
For laptops, Security Tools includes options to disable scheduled processes on battery power and enable balance protection at boot.
In addition, deferring scanning activity during times of high CPU and disk system usage allows you to get the best performance while avoiding shutdowns and draining your battery.
Kaspersky Internet Security
Try out one of the best complete security solutions that come with a top-notch security feature.
AVG’s Internet Security is an efficient program that keeps malware away from your system and devices. It takes up less storage space, runs faster, and you can also use it on old or slow devices.
With this antivirus for one year free, you can enjoy antispam, firewall and email protection, web browsing protection, and protection for your data and identity against theft online.
As an advanced antivirus, it scans your PC for viruses as well as your email and link and website you access using its AI detection
Also, with a smart behavior shield you get alerted if any suspicious behavior is detected on your PC.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
AVG also comes with PC tune-up and drive encryption
Delivers the latest cloud-based protection feature
Fully compatible with Windows 10
Real-time, on-demand, and on-access scheduled protection to safeguard your system and devices against threats such as rootkits or any malicious links
AVG offers a safe way to browse the Internet. It offers a link scanner that prevents you from visiting malicious websites, checks files before and after downloads, and protects your emails to prevent you from sending anything malicious.
AVG Antivirus
An amazing aid in protecting your computer when browsing online.
McAfee offers advanced security that protects all your devices against threats, compatibility with every operating system, and ease of use with its robust user-friendly software that is both easy to install and manage.
It comes with a secure VPN with high connection speed that is meant to hode your identity while browsing online. Using a VPN has its perks, so you gain access to watch geo-restricted content.
With multi-platform compatibility, you can protect every device in your household against online threats. Keep you family safe from phishing, scams and others risks.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
It provides protection such as data encryption security for online use
24-hour data theft protection.
It is so easy to use, plus you can monitor the security status of your devices
Provides automatic updates on the latest threat definitions
McAfee is popular for providing protection for a variety of online threats by using complex technology. In addition, it also comes with a secure Wi-Fi connection and a guard for any incoming attacks.
Moreover, on top of the basic antivirus protection, you gain lost wallet protection, indentity theft coverage and personal data cleanup.
McAfee Total Protection
Get the protection you need for your computer and don’t risk losing any of your sensitive data.
This powerful antivirus delivers 100 percent uninterrupted and certified protection, for data and identity.
You can enjoy features such as File/Web/Email shield that monitor malware hiding in your programs for suspicious activity.
This antivirus removes all types of viruses and other malware. For maximum security, Avast Free Antivirus also analyzes unknown files to prevent malware infections.
Avast Free Antivirus automatically detects wireless network weaknesses and unwanted connections within the network.
Let’s quickly look at itskey features:
Protection for your inbox and share points, URLs, and email attachments
Detects unrecognized file downloads
Updates software automatically
Browser add-ons for easy and secure auto-filling in online login forums
Additionally, you can use a free VPN to hide yourself while surfing the web. No one can track you. Watch geo-restricted content from multiple streaming platforms while using a VPN.
Avast
Get all the features and security of a premium antivirus for free.
These are the best up to one-year free antivirus that you can install and try out before buying. Tell us your favorite antivirus for one year free by dropping your comment in the section below.
There are many great antivirus applications on the market, and many users are wondering does an antivirus slow down gaming.
This depends largely on the antivirus itself because some antivirus tools are better optimized than others so they use fewer resources.
For best performance, we recommend using antivirus with Gaming Mode, and speaking of performance, in today’s guide, we’ll show you the best antivirus applications that don’t slow down gaming.
What are the best antivirus options that don’t slow down gaming?
Total AV is famous antivirus software that covers all the security needs against malware without slowing down your PC or games.
It’s common sense that you need an antivirus for improved system protection. Thus, you can take advantage of clever tune-up options or hacking and ransomware blocking with this solution.
Besides the powerful scanning engine, you can monitor or remove all types of viruses without affecting other resources on your PC.
For instance, you benefit from anti-spyware and adware protection tools that keep you away from spamming ads or malicious files that track your crucial information.
If this isn’t enough, there is also a remote firewall that blocks all the corrupted downloads and files to get into your system.
TotalAV
Change your antivirus with this light usage tool that stops all the complex malware instantly.
This antivirus software offers great protection against all types of malware including phishing attacks and ransomware.
Thanks to Advanced Machine Learning, it can detect any suspicious activities and new types of malware with ease.
As for the performance, it has a Gamer Mode feature, so you can enjoy gaming without interruptions. To make less impact on your performance, the software supports cloud-powered scanning, so you won’t even notice that it’s running.
ESET HOME Security Essential is incredibly simple to use, and thanks to the privacy protection features, you can rest assured that your personal information is completely safe at all times.
ESET HOME Security Essential
Ensure maximum protection and a stutter-free gaming experience with ESET HOME Security Essential.
Another amazing antivirus that won’t interfere with your gaming sessions is Avira. The application offers advanced protection and it will block all types of malware, ransomware, spyware, and other threats.
Thanks to the Identity Protection feature, all your accounts will be protected with a strong and unique password thus greatly improving your online security.
Avira also has a Speed Booster feature that will optimize your system while the PC Cleaner feature will delete all unnecessary data that might be slowing down your PC or tracking you online.
Avira
Avira Antivirus offers great protection against all types of malware while being incredibly light on your resources.
If you need an antivirus that does not slow down gaming, then Avast is the perfect choice for you.
This antivirus is light on your resources, and thanks to machine-learning protection, it will detect all types of malware.
The software has a friendly user interface, and even first-time users will be able to use it. It’s worth mentioning that the software has a passive mode that lets you run multiple security products simultaneously.
To make sure that your system is safe, there’s a Behavior Shield that blocks applications that perform suspicious activities.
Last but not least, there’s a Game Mode feature that lets you enjoy multimedia without distractions.
Avast Free Antivirus
Browse the web safely and enjoy multimedia without slowdowns with Avast Antivirus.
Microsoft has released a security report indicating an increase in firmware attacks. It also highlights the complexities of fighting back against these types of exploits. Their insusceptibility to automated removal processes is chief among the reasons why they are so formidable.
Microsoft cites a recently commissioned study on firmware security investments compiled by Security Signals. It shows that over 80 percent of businesses have experienced a firmware attack within the past two years. The survey also found that across the board, only 29 percent of enterprise security budgets were allocated to tackling firmware exploits. The Security Signals study involved interviews with 1,000 enterprise security decision-makers (SDMs) from the United States, Germany, UK, Japan and China.
How Firmware Attacks Work
Firmware hacks are effective because they compromise a device before it boots. They attack the deep-level code that controls hardware and software when the system is starting and during runtime. The two primary avenues for Windows systems are usually Basic Input Output System (BIOS) and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) protocols.
Tackling the Menace
According to data obtained from the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), firmware attacks have increased by more than five times over the past four years. Current remedies against these types of attacks include the use of Kernel data protection (KDP) and memory encryption solutions. They work by blocking malware from accessing kernel memory.
According to the Microsoft – Security Signals report, 36 percent of enterprises are proactive in this area and fortify their systems using hardware-based memory encryption mechanisms. This is still less than half of all businesses involved in the research study.
That said, a series of recent firmware attacks have led to more vigilance. The recently-discovered ThunderSpy bug targeting Thunderbolt ports revealed the level of damage that firmware vulnerabilities can cause. ThunderSpy works on devices utilizing Thunderbolt ports and allows a hacker who has physical access to the device to read the drive’s contents and copy data. Among the more scary aspects about it is that it allows a malicious penetrator to bypasses drive encryption, Secure Boot, antivirus, and other related security measures.
The level of data access through ThunderSpy is immense because it leverages direct memory access (DMA). Other related firmware exploits that are still being found in the wild include the RobbinHood, Derusbi, Uburos, Sauron, and GrayFish vulnerabilities. To tackle this problem, Microsoft has come up with a new category of devices designed to thwart such security threats called Secured-core PCs.
They feature revolutionary security features such as Credential Guard, Virtualization-Based Security, and Kernel DMA protection.
Are you ever in the middle of something on your Windows 10 PC and you are interrupted and have to log out or turn off your PC? Do you wish there was a way to pick up where you left off? Thankfully, there are settings available on Windows 10 that allow you to pick up where you left off instantly in apps on Windows 10. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Open Settings (Windows key + I keyboard shortcut)
2. Open Accounts.
3. Open Sign-in options from the left pane.
4. Go to Restart apps and turn on toggle for “Automatically save my restartable apps when I sign out and restart them after I sign in.”
You’re done! If you want to turn off the ability to restart your apps where you left off, all you need to do is turn the toggle off in the last step of the guide.
Keep in mind that the ability to start where you left off in apps on Windows 10 typically applies only to Microsoft apps and not third-party apps. Another important thing to keep in mind is that whatever settings you have in Microsoft Edge are superseded by this setting.
So it doesn’t matter if you have pick up where you left off disabled in On Startup settings of Microsoft Edge, your Edge browser is going to restart right here it left off regardless of any Edge-specific privacy settings you have. It’s an important thing to note if you are looking to keep your privacy.
Do you like to pick up where you left off on Windows 10 or start fresh every time you log in to Windows 10. Let us know in the comments.
Hackers are becoming more audacious with attacks being launched daily across the globe. In the case of WordPress, tens of thousands of organizations, including OnMSFT.com utilize the platform to provide daily updates to millions of users. With hackers constantly changing tactics, the platform is slowly becoming a new cybersecurity frontier that will in the future impact Microsoft and non-Microsoft users alike.
And now, according to the latest related news report, a new WordPress PHP exploit attempt has been reported by Nikita Popov, a contributor to the WP project. According to his statement, he found two malicious commits that had been pushed to the php-src git repository. The changes were designed to create backdoors on websites using the updated library.
The scheme would essentially give the perpetrators access to WordPress websites by leveraging remote code execution via PHP and a HTTP header. They would also be able to take over the server hosting the PHP site and modify files on the system.
PHP is a scripting language used to create dynamic and responsive websites. WordPress is coded using PHP, which is Open Source. Subsequently, WP files typically have a .php extension.
As It Happened
The malicious repository changes which happened on Saturday were made to look as if they were made by two renowned WP contributors Rasmus Lerdorf and Nikita Popov. This was in an attempt to make them look authentic. While it might appear that authors’ accounts were compromised, the ploy is believed to have worked by exploiting the git infrastructure and not by targeting specific accounts.
As such, the PHP Group has announced that it will be shifting from the git infrastructure to GitHub. This will provide greater security and allow all future changes to be tracked.
The devious attackers also tried to create confusion by attaching a comment on the changes implying that the exploits had been sold to Zerodium, a firm that specializes in the purchase of premium zero-day vulnerabilities. The comment read “REMOVETHIS: sold to zerodium, mid 2017”.
That said, Zerodium CEO, Chaouki Bekrar, has denied any dealings involving the WordPress PHP exploit. “Cheers to the troll who put “Zerodium” in today’s PHP git compromised commits. Obviously, we have nothing to do with this. Likely, the researcher(s) who found this bug/exploit tried to sell it to many entities but none wanted to buy this cr**, so they burned it for fun,” he said via Twitter.
Had the changes made by the hackers gone unnoticed, thousands of websites would have been compromised, allowing hackers to carry out a range of attacks on different types of devices including those running Windows. Hackers usually undertake this via XSS, traffic redirection, autofilled data, and more.
To prevent related compromises, Microsoft user are advised to use a reliable firewall, and set Windows Defender updates to automatic.
Businesses today are facing numerous challenges from the digital space such as cyber-attacks from hackers, and threats that come with viruses, spyware, and malware.
These threats have taken various forms which if undetected, can destroy your corporate image, data, and information while messing up your systems and network.
This is why antivirus for corporate use was designed – to detect, deal with and destroy threats that are lurking or imminent threats that may bring disastrous outcomes to your company.
An antivirus for corporate use helps protect your systems, your data as well as those of your clients while giving you centralized control and scalability for advanced protection.
Ideally, a good antivirus for corporate use should protect your devices and hardware, emails, cloud environment, IP information, and data (both yours and your clients’), among other areas.
If you’re looking for an antivirus that will match the needs of your business while delivering total security and enhanced performance, here are the top picks you can choose from.
ESET offers extremely reliable business software, besides their home user solutions. ESET PROTECTION Complete is an all-inclusive tool, that covers all the security needs of your business, whether small, medium, or large.
With ESET’s complete business antivirus, you’ll secure your network against zero-day threats, malware, phishing, and spam managed from an easy‑to‑use cloud-based console.
This solution offers file and mail server protection; additionally, you get cloud app protection, full disk encryption options, and cloud sandbox.
ESET PROTECT Complete
Looking to give a try to a complete corporate antivirus that’s easy to deploy? ESET is the answer.
This antivirus for corporate use leaves nothing to chance. With its powerful antivirus, data, and identity protection against zero-day threats, this is the ultimate security for your company.
It protects your IP, customer data, business strategy, and everything else including your server, email, and VPN, with superfast analyses of unknown files in your system, without slowing down your business, or employees as they work.
Notable features of Avast Enterprise Protection Advanced:
Complete data protection
Safe deletion of confidential documents so they cannot be recovered
Inbox protection, protection for share points from infection
Active scanning of files, URLs, and email attachments using the Field Shield
Web Shield, and Email Shield tools
Full identity protection, and an easy-to-use VPN
The Behavior Shield tool monitors deeply rooted malware hiding inside your running programs for any suspicious activity to shut down attacks.
Other tools include the CyberCapture feature that detects unrecognized file downloads, Software Defender to update software automatically, a browser add-on for easy and secure auto-filling of passwords in online login forums, and a SecureLine VPN to make every connection private no matter the network or Wi-Fi used so as to prevent identity and/or data theft.
Avast Endpoint Protection Advanced
Efficient security shield against ransomware, data breaches and email scammer for your entire business network.
For small and medium businesses, German antivirus developer Avira has a convenient product called Prime. It covers up to 25 devices and offers the classic, but reliable and powerful security featured the home-user products offer as well.
Notable features of the tool that your business will benefit from are the unlimited VPN and the password manager, to help with both securing and generating strong passwords.
Also, Avira Prime also supervises all system drivers and important software in terms of updates, making sure that they work in optimal parameters.
Avira Prime
Scalable and reliable security for your business, made in Germany.
Thisantivirushas been ranked highly in independent tests and incorporates innovative multi-layered defenses that block all forms of malicious threats, ensuring yourorganizationoperates at optimal performance.
Its multi-layered protection combines traditionalsignature-based protection with behavioral-based protection to guard against known and new malware outbreaks, with industry-leading detection rates.
Featuresinclude a vulnerability scannerto detectoutdated softwarethat is easily exploitedby hackers, freeand powerful backupto keep your filessafe in case of a system crashor computerloss, behavioral-baseddetection,anti-spamfilters, a featurethat stops unwanted appsfrom hijacking your browser, and automatic PCtune-up.
It is simple to navigate with an effective, user-friendly design and easy to use dashboardinterface with clearly marked features and actions.
Thisantivirusfor corporate use delivers continuous, powerful protection against any sophisticated threats.
Features include the GravityZone feature – adaptive, layered endpoint security designed for cloud and virtualization – protects your enterprise from advanced targeted attacks through its monitoring and revolutionary hypervisor introspection architecture, layered next-generation endpoint protection against cyber threatsto detect advanced persistent threats, and protection for yourorganizationfrom ransomware and defeats exploits, and zero-day attacks.
It also has the GravityZone Endpoint Security HD with HyperDetect with specialized local machine models and behavior analysis techniques trained to spot and detect hacking tools, malware obfuscation, and exploits.
For your infrastructure, thisantiviruseffectively blocks attacks that most traditional endpoint and next-genantivirusdefenses don’t.
Pandais thefirstand onlyantivirusfor corporate that pools advanced protection technologies,detectionand remediation features, to classify 100 percent of running processeson all endpoints.
It is easy to use and maintain, minimizes resource usage, gives guaranteed service availability, andconstantsystem monitoring.
Featuresinclude endpoint protection from a centralized platform, systems control, andmanagementwhether in the office or remote locations, fusion toprotectall IT infrastructure devices including smartphonesand tablets, and email securitytoprotectagainst all forms of malware and spam.
It also has contextual intelligence used to reveal patterns of malicious behavior and generate defensive strategies to counter any known or unknown threats.
Itsanti-spam protectionmodulesadapt to the userfor maximum efficiency thus preventingfalsepositives and guaranteeing 100 percent spam blockage.
This antivirus is designed for businesses running multiple computers with serversand other devices. It has easymanagementfrom a cloud-basedconsolefor corporates in the financial, healthcare, data center, industrial, government or telecoms industry.
Featuresincludecloud endpointsecuritywith strong protectionand easymanagement, advanced world-classcybersecurity for business, and ready-to-scale protection against every type of threat your company faces, on-premise or cloud.
Its multi-layered protectionis powered by machine learningand humanexpertiseand offers granular security management, secure communicationand collaboration, and enhancedmobile security and device management.
Otherkey featuresinclude asecurityoperations center to detect andremediate threatsand FraudPreventionfor proactive detection of cross-channel fraud in real-time.
The comprehensive practicalreporting(APTIntelligence) feature lets you increase your awareness andknowledgeof high-profile, targeted attacks.
This antivirus for corporate takes only 20 seconds to check your computer – that’s 60 times faster than the average scan time of other antivirus software.
Features include identity theft protection for yourusernames, account numbers, and other personal information, secure browsing with real-time anti-phishing to block fake sites, lightning-fast scans with no interruptions, webcam protection from spying threats, and guaranteed satisfaction.
Windows Photo Viewer allows the users to print directly from the app with a few clicks. Sometimes, after giving the print job, you may notice that Windows Photo Viewer won’t print or prints only partially, leaving most of the page blank.
Several users have reported similar issues on the Microsoft community forums. So in this article, we have listed a couple of troubleshooting tips to help you resolve Windows Photo Viewer printing issues in Windows.
Note: In case you’ve only started getting the error after updating Windows 10 with one of the recent cumulative updates (KB5000802, more specifically), the issue lies with Microsoft. They are working on a solution and the problem should be fixed in the next batch of updates.
What can I do if Windows Photo Viewer isn’t printing?
1. Uninstall the latest updates
Open the Windows Settings.
Select Update and Security, then View update history.
Click on Uninstall Updates.
As mentioned, KB5000802 might be the problem so find this update, right-click on it and uninstall. If you believe the reason is another update, uninstallthat.
Wait for the updates to uninstall.
Restart your PC.
2. Extract the zip file before printing
In case you are trying to print from a zip file without exacting the file, you may not able to print.
Right-click on the Zip file and select Extract.
Open the extracted folder.
Open the picture in Windows Photo Viewer.
Try printing the photo and check for any improvements.
WinZip
The world leading file opener, file compression and file archiving tool that never lets you down.
Spam is one of the most annoying and dangerous things you can get in your mail that not only clogs it up with unwanted material but also takes up too much time trying to eliminate.
It is officially the established name for the volumes of emails that either promote pills, weird stocks, and other questionable stuff, and nobody likes such things taking up their space in their inboxes.
However, you cannot avoid such unsolicited bulk or junk messages, but you can get the best antivirus with antispam to deal with it before it checks in.
Antivirus with antispam has become increasingly important because research shows that 1 in 284 emails contain malware, 91 percent contain links, and 2 out of 3 spam messages are related to pharmaceuticals.
With such information in mind, it’s about time you got yourself an antivirus with antispam to deal with those annoying junk messages once, and for all.
Panda Security Essential with antispam works with Smart technology, based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence that monitor running apps on your systems and then classifies everything.
This is unlike traditional solutions which only work when there’s a detected problem. Its approach is based on behavior intelligence.
This antivirus identifies known and unknown threats from malware, file attacks, and other malicious behavior before they even exist.
You get continuous monitoring and protection against all types of threats, detailed forensic information, security audits, and real-time alerts, so you can control everything happening on your network.
This tool also lets you avoid data leaks, discover and resolve vulnerabilities in your system and apps, and detect targeted attacks.
Let’s quickly look at its key features:
Antispam feature to stop the avalanche of junk email through the following phases
Installation of the antivirus (at most 15 minutes) then it works automatically
Scan and detect: it immediately scans inbound and outbound messages and applies the actions you define
Constant Updates: spam signatures update automatically through minute-by-minute micro-updates
Adapting the detection system: the system’s sensitivity can be set to High (for greater detection), Medium (for a balance between spam and false positives), and Low (for less spam detection but no false positives)
Finally, action on spam detected is determined by you, whether to eliminate or quarantine
Panda Security Essential
Security is provided by Artificial Intelligence for continuous virus monitoring and protection.
This is one of the top antiviruses with an antispam feature, which was launched for Windows Workstations.
This is a quality and mature antispam product, with lots of effort put into its development so as to get it right the first time.
Internal tests and beta tester reports reveal that this antivirus with antispam achieves excellent spam detection rates.
Bitdefender AntiSpam works with any mail program, including Outlook and Outlook Express, which has a toolbar that lets you configure and train the tool directly from your mail client interface.
Bitdefender also has the Free Antispam for Mail Services that provides essential features for increased organizational productivity by blocking spam.
The award-winning Bitdefender spam filter provides anti-phishing, content, and attachment filtering.
Plus, it is easy to install and has a user-friendly web-based interface with a powerful command-line management system.
Let’s quickly look at its key features:
Different proprietary modules so your inbox can be spam-free
Whitelist-blacklist (used to block mail from known spammer domains, and accept mail from known legitimate addresses)
Heuristic filter (performs tests on all message components, looking for words, phrases, links, or other spammy characteristics)
Bayesian learning module (can be trained to know which messages are spam, and which ones aren’t)
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus will ensure the top anti-spam protection for your PC and a lot more.
One of the best solutions for antispam on your PC is to go for the ESET Home Security Premium solution.
This version is a step up from NOD32 Antivirus and it comes with an excellent antispam an intelligent firewall that will ensure perfect protection against such problems.
Although it’s complex and strong, this security solution is very easy to use and even offers parental control and protection for portable media like external drives, including USB flash drives.
Let’s take a look at its key features:
Multiple platform compatibility including Windows, Mac, and Android
File encryption
Password organizer
Anti-theft laptop protection
ESET HOME Security Premium
If you want to opt for a premium security tool, try ESET Home Security Premium and its smart antispam protection.
Spam presents a huge challenge when it comes to business. It eats up work time thus reducing productivity, overloading the system, and also can damage your company’s reputation.
The challenges in spam prevention include protecting against multi-protocol messaging traffic malware, increasing infrastructure costs, and system inefficiencies from bulk spam.
Filtering content to remove spam, protect against data or IP leakage, and compromise between using an effective spam filter and blocking legitimate email also add to this list.
Norton 360 antivirus with an antispam feature protects against external threats in inbound and outbound messages and instant messages.
It detects and blocks spam before it reaches the internal infrastructure and protects from the spread of viruses and worms.
Let’s see what the main features of Norton 360 are:
This is one of the most common antiviruses with antispam features and although it’s free, it comes in a great package.
Filter out spam with either Avast Internet Security or Avast Premier, which allows you to download the Avast spam filter feature.
That way, you will be able to stay safe from phishing and save time that could have been wasted on junk emails.
In case you have either of these two Avast antiviruses with antispam installed on your computer, you can get antispam by opening Avast, clicking Settings, selecting Components, and then looking for AntiSpam to install, and customize it.
Although you can only get the anti-spam feature only with the paid versions, you can still try the free version on some of your devices for its powerful protection.
Let’s see what the main features of this antivirus tool are:
Light on your system and resources
App monitoring with Behavior Shield for constant protection
The Do Not Disturb Mode will ensure a perfect block against popups
Advanced Ransomware protection
How can I protect my computer or device from spam?
You may have an antivirus with antispam, but there are steps you can take to prevent the spam from getting to your computer or device in the first place, including:
➡️ Avoid spam by not giving out your email address to unknown or unfamiliar recipients
➡️ Check online shopping, which opens the spam floodgates because it is hard to shop without providing a valid email address or getting discounts or free stuff in exchange. This makes you vulnerable to annoying and dangerous spam. Check out these online shopping tips to stay safe at all times.
➡️ Open an email for potential spammers. Don’t use your personal email, but have more than one for friends, family, and others for unfamiliar sources.
➡️ Install a spam filter to protect your inbox from spam infiltration.
➡️ Ignore and delete – don’t open a message or messages from an unknown source or click any links, pictures, and anything else in it. Don’t open any attachments, and neverrespond to such messages no matter what it promises in return. Acting on or responding to spam confirms that your email is real, so it exposes you in return.
Now that you know the best antiviruses with antispam, you should also check our list with the best e-mail scanning software. They will also help you get rid of spam.
If you know about other effective tools, and you know they should be on this list, share them with us in the comments section below.
Data is a priority for any business in today’s digital age. It’s frustrating when you lose your data either because of a hard drive crash, or your computers get infected with a virus or malware.
In one case or another, your data can be lost due to damage or corruption of your files. You may need to recover the data using sophisticated software, which also requires trained manpower to implement.
A successful data recovery operation can disable corrupt files while uploading and reinstalling necessary programs or files, and help you reclaim your data after damage or loss.
In this case, you will need a great antivirus with data recovery to extract and reinstall data lost through damaged or corrupted files.
Here is our list of the best antivirus with data recovery for your Windows device.
What’s the best antivirus software with data recovery?
Bitdefender protects all endpoints and features an integrated enterprise security system, with simplified security for SMBs and for service providers.
With the Bitdefender Rescue CD, a free tool that scans your computer in a safe environment without having to load your operating system.
The scanning engines detect and disinfect even the latest malware with automatic updates, and you can set this up either on a CD/DVD or on a USB flash drive.
For data recovery, you need to create a Bitdefender Rescue CD/DVD with an ISO image that you can download, and an image-burning application.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
Besides blocking malware, Bitdefender comes with handy utilities to recover your data.
This antivirus with data recovery combines advanced protection technologies, and detection and remediation features, so you don’t have to panic when you lose data.
Panda’s backup and data recovery protection features take care of your data so you won’t lose a single file ever again, plus you’ll recover them quickly and easily.
It is easy to use and maintain, cuts costs, and minimizes resource usage, plus you get guaranteed service availability, and constant system monitoring.
Panda Security Essential
Panda Antivirus Pro offers reliable data recovery features and it never slows down your system.
Norton (by Symantec) is an easy-to-use, fast-to-install security antivirus with unrivaled performance and guaranteed protection that delivers the best protection for any way you choose to connect.
With Norton Security Premium (with Backup) and Norton’s Online Backup, you can ensure all your data is protected against corruption or damage, plus have a smooth data recovery process to restore all or most of what was affected.
Norton also delivers complete virus and malware protection for your computer and devices, identity and privacy protection, defense against Internet threats, and online support from Norton technicians.
Norton Antivirus Plus
Norton Antivirus Plus delivers complete malware and antivirus protection with a comprehensive UI.
F-Secure antivirus for enterprise lets you do business with confidence.
As an antivirus with data recovery, F-Secure uses the Rescue CD, a downloadable computer utility app that lets users fix non-booting hardware corrupted by excessive malware.
The F-Secure Rescue CD performs different types of repairs including data recovery, plus the PhotoRec tool that recovers data lost through corrupted file systems, or data deleted accidentally.
F-Secure approaches cybersecurity with a combination of the latest human expertise and continuously improves technology to comprehensively predict, prevent, detect, and respond to threats.
F-Secure
Get the latest technology to keep your computer protected.
For worry-free data security, Trend Micro is your best antivirus for data recovery. It is simple, easy to set up, plus is trusted by more than half a million businesses worldwide, with 30 years of security expertise.
Trend Micro provides round-the-clock threat visibility and protection for your data, with an all-in-one cloud solution that provides endpoint, web security, and email protection in one hassle-free bundle with automatic updates, zero maintenance, and low monthly costs.
Through its Full Disk Encryption Recovery Tool, a bootable disk used to repair a device if it’s unable to boot, Trend Micro lets you scan and repair issues that prevent logging in, and recover your data, even from an encrypted disk.
Once a full disk encryption device is fully encrypted, you may have to perform system restore actions, like in the case of a corrupted Windows environment.
Data recovery methods are available to Endpoint encryption admins and authenticator accounts to recover data when the full disk encryption device isn’t functioning properly.
Have you used any of these antiviruses with data recovery? If so, share your experience with us, or let us know your favorite one that didn’t make the list by dropping a comment in the section below.
Under the Display section on the left, click Set up G-Sync.
You should see Enable G-Sync checkbox. Uncheck it and save changes.
If you have Nvidia graphic card you should know that G-Sync can sometimes cause crashes with FIFA 16.
Users have reported crashing issues on new PCs with updated drivers, and it seems that the only solution is to disable G-Sync. To do that, follow the steps above.
3. Delete the ButtonData folder
Go to FIFA 16 installation directory. By default it should be: C:Program Files (x86)Origin GamesFIFA 16
Locate the ButtonData folder and delete it.
Few users have reported that they have managed to fix FIFA 16 crashing issues by removing ButtonData folder. To remove this folder, follow the steps above.
4. Make sure Windows Media Player is installed
Press Windows Key + S and type features. Choose Turn Windows features on or off.
Windows Features window will appear. Scroll down to Media Features section and make sure to check Windows Media Player. You might have to wait a bit for Windows Media Player to download and install.
Click OK to save the changes.
Users report crashes at the language page, and if you’re having this problem, you can fix it by activating Windows Media Player.
It seems that game’s intro requires Windows Media Player, and if Media Player isn’t activated the crash occurs.
5. Change your PC name and/or user name
Press Windows Key + S and type msconfig. Choose SystemConfiguration from the list of results.
When System window opens, click on Change settings option.
Go to Computer Name tab and click the Change button.
In Computer name section enter a new name for your computer. Remember not to use any special characters.
Click OK to save changes and restart your computer.
FIFA 16 supports only ASCII characters, and if your PC name or username has at least one special character, it might cause FIFA 16 to crash.
To fix this issue, make sure to alter your username or PC name so it doesn’t contain any special characters. To change the computer name, follow the steps above.
Previous steps work only if you’re using a Microsoft account, but if you’re using a local account, you’ll just have to create a new local account that doesn’t have any special characters in its name.
6. Run the game in compatibility mode
Locate FIFA 16 shortcut or .exe file and right click it. Choose Properties from the menu.
Go to Compatibility tab and check Run this program in compatibility mode for. Select Windows 7 or any other older version of Windows.
Click Apply and OK to save changes.
If FIFA 16 is crashing on your Windows 10 computer, you might want to try running it in compatibility mode. To do that, follow the steps above.
7. Move your FIFA 16 folder to Desktop
In some cases, FIFA 16 folder can get corrupted and cause the game to crash while launching. In you are having this issue, you should go to the Documents folder, locate FIFA 16 directory and move it to your Desktop.
After you start the game, FIFA 16 directory will be recreated and repaired.
8. Make sure that your drivers are up to date
If you’re having FIFA 16 crashes on your computer, make sure that you update your display drivers.
Just visit the website of your graphic card manufacturer, locate your graphics card and download the latest drivers for it.
After you’ve installed the latest drivers, restart your computer and try running FIFA 16 again.
All your drivers need to be updated, but doing it manually sometimes can be tricky, so we recommend using a dedicated tool to do it automatically.
The solution recommended below will update and repair all your drivers in a single take with just a few clicks from you.
9. Other quick fixes that you should try
Disable your Internet connection – In some cases, FIFA 16 crashes can be caused by your internet connection, so it’s advised that you disable it while starting FIFA 16. After the game starts, you can minimize it and enable your Internet connection again.
Unplug all USB controllers – If FIFA 16 crashes while starting, you can try disconnecting all USB controllers. After you’ve disconnected all USB controllers, start the game and reconnect them.
Disable unnecessary applications – Certain application, such as FRAPS, can cause FIFA 16 to crash. If you’re using FRAPS, we highly advise you to disable it before trying to run FIFA 16.
Delete your Game Face – It has been reported that FIFA 16 freezes and crashes while loading a saved career. If you’re having this issue, just delete your Game Face and crashing issues should be resolved.
2. Fix – FIFA 16 fps drop
1. Edit fifasetup.ini file
Go to Documentsand locate the FIFA 16 folder.
Find fifasetup.ini. Create a copy of this file on your Desktop, in case something goes wrong.
Switch back to the DocumentsFIFA16 folder and open fifasetup.ini with Notepad.
FPS drop can make FIFA 16 almost unplayable at times, but you can fix this issue by changing the game’s .ini file. To change FIFA 16 .ini file, follow the steps above.
2. Close any unnecessary applications
If you’re having fps drops in FIFA 16, or in any other game for that matter, it’s important to turn off any unnecessary background apps.
After closing all unnecessary applications, try running FIFA 16 and check if the issue is resolved.
3. Change priority of FIFA 16 process to High
Start the game. As soon as the game starts, press Alt + Tab to minimize it.
Find fifa16.exe process and right-click it. Choose Set Priorityand select High.
Close Task Manager and switch back to FIFA 16.
If this solution works for you, we have to mention that you’ll have to repeat it every time you start FIFA 16.
4. Change the NVidia/Catalyst control panel settings
Start Nvidia Control Panel.
Go to Manage 3D Settings.
From the list of options find and disable OpenGL and Triple Buffering. Enable V-Sync.
Save changes and try running FIFA 16 again.
Users have reported micro stuttering and fps drops while playing FIFA 16, and if you have similar issues, you might want to change certain options from NVidia Control Panel or Catalyst Control Center.
If you own AMD graphic card, you can change these options from Catalyst Control Center.
3. Fix – FIFA 16 can’t install
1. Install Visual C++ Redistributable
Users have reported the VC++ runtime redistributable package was not installed successfully. Setup cannot continue error message while installing FIFA 16.
If you’re having the same problem, it’s advised that you install Visual C++ Redistributable separately. To do that, follow these steps:
Go to Origin GamesFIFA 16__Installervcvc2012Update3redist.
There should be two files available. If you’re using 64-bit version of Windows 10, install both vc_redist.x64.exe and vc_redist.x86.exe. If you’re using 32-bit version of Windows, just install vc_redist.x86.exe.
Return to Origin library and install the game.
2. Disable your antivirus
Sometimes FIFA 16 can’t install if your antivirus software is running. We don’t know why this happens, but if you have this issue, disable your antivirus before installing FIFA 16.
3. Delete _Installer and Core folders
Go to the following folder: C:Program Files(x86)Origin GamesFIFA 16
Locate the _Installer and Core folders and delete them.
Open Origin, right-click FIFA 16, and choose Repairgame from the menu.
Users have reported that they cannot re-install FIFA 16 after the original installation gets interrupted. If you have the same issue, you might want to do the previous actions.
Doing this will refresh all the system files used by the game and that will hopefully prevent any other errors from occurring.
FIFA is a great game but there are many other successful titles that you might want to try. Check our list with the best Windows 10 games for your PC.
In this article, we provided the FIFA 16 origin error fix and other solutions for some of the other issues for the game. We hope that our solutions helped you enjoy the game again.
Google doesn’t seem to be too much in love with Microsoft’s Windows Store idea and that’s why there aren’t too many Google apps there.
Today we’ll be discussing how to use Google Hangouts on Windows 10 about the future of an app made for touch devices.
We will briefly explain what Google Hangouts is all about and whether or not you can use it on your Windows 10 device.
The short answer is – definitely, but not on the modern user interface, as Google has to officially submit the app, certify it and then make it available for Windows 10 and Windows RT users.
This isn’t the single software affected by this, so we’ve decided to take a new approach here.
How can I use Google Hangouts on Windows 10?
Despite the fact that Google has somewhat offered Chrome for the touch version of Windows 8, Hangouts won’t work, and that hasn’t changed with the release of Windows 8.1, 10 neither.
So, just make sure that you use the Chrome desktop application to run Hangouts without any problems. For those who are new to Google Hangouts, here’s a simple and useful description of the service:
Google Hangouts is an instant messaging and video chat platform developed by Google, which launched on May 15, 2013 during the keynote of its I/O development conference. It replaces three messaging products that Google had implemented concurrently within its services, including Talk, Google+ Messenger, and Hangouts, a video chat system present within Google+. Google has also stated that Hangouts is designed to be “the future” of its telephony product, Google Voice, and integrated some of the capabilities of Google Voice into Hangouts.
Google+ Hangouts is one of the best services when it comes to group conversations tools as it adds photos, emoji, and video calls for free.
A video call with up to 10 friends can be made completely for free. There are over 850 emojis to make sure your conversion has some real style.
To be able to use Hangouts Windows 10 and I guess on all the upcoming Windows versions, you will have to download and install the Chrome browser and use Hangouts as a plugin, or as a Chrome extension.
The extension and plugin don’t get frequent updates, so we will be sure to cover them only when they are worthy and come with some important upgrades.
Use the web version of the app
We’re resuming the update of this article in order to provide a helpful page for our readers and to provide some form of insight into what the most recent versions are bringing.
Thankfully, for the people who prefer not to install extra software into their devices, you can use Google+ Hangouts in your browser.
Simply go to this site and make sure you are logged in on the account you want then you can start chatting and talking to your acquaintances right away.
The web-based version is constantly updated, and since it’s not software that you need to download, you will always use the latest version.
Download the Google+ Hangouts Chrome extension
The latest version of Google Hangouts for Windows brought more fixes for sending and receiving MMS, bugs preventing some from sending SMS longer than 160 characters.
If you weren’t aware, there is a Hangouts extension for Google Chrome. It has all the features of the web-version and it’s working great, while also being accessible.
As with the web version, the extension gets constant updates and fixes so you won’t have to worry about incompatibility.
Moreover, if you’re on mobile, you should know that it is available for Android as well, and you can find it in the Android store.
There you have it. We’ve included both ways of using Google Hangouts. You can opt for the accessible Google Chrome extension, or the web-based version. You can use both ones since they get constantly updated.
We strongly encourage you to give us some feedback regarding the approach of this article in the comment section below.
Blue Screen of Death errors such as apc_index_mismatch ntoskrnl.exe can cause a lot of problems on your PC including crashes and data loss.
In today’s guide we’re going to investigate this error and show you a couple of easy methods that you can use to fix it, so let’s get started.
How can I fix apc_index_mismatch ntoskrnl.exe error?
1. Use a specialized repair software
If you’re having issues with apc_index_mismatch ntoskrnl.exe BSOD error, the simplest way to deal with it is to use dedicated repair software.
2. Reinstall your graphics card drive
Press Windows Key + X and choose Device Manager from the list.
Locate your graphics card driver on the light, right-click it and choose Uninstall driver.
If available, check the Remove driver software for this device and click on Uninstall.
Once the driver is removed, update the driver to the latest version.
Keep in mind that audio drivers can cause this problem as well, and users had issues with Dell drivers, but after switching to Realtek HD Audio Driver the problem was resolved.
Apc_index_mismatch ntoskrnl.exe error is often caused by your graphics card drivers, and to update them quickly, it’s advised to use Outbyte Driver Updater software.
Press Windows Key + I to open the Settings app, and go to the Apps section.
Look for Star8 software, select it and click on Uninstall.
Follow the instructions on the screen to remove it.
Keep in mind that other applications can cause this error to appear, especially the ones that modify Windows shell, so if you have any applications that change the way Windows looks, be sure to remove them.
4. Check your BIOS settings
Access BIOS on your PC. If you don’t know how to do that, check our how to access BIOS guide.
Now look for the Gaming Boost setting and enable it.
Optional: If you don’t have this setting, try slightly increasing the speed and voltage of your memory.
Sometimes your BIOS settings can cause apc_index_mismatch ntoskrnl.exe error, but after following these steps, the issue should be gone.
5. Check your hardware
In some instances, your hardware can cause this BSOD error to appear. If that’s the case, you might want to remove any recently installed hardware or check if all hardware is working properly.
Users reported that their CPU or PCI-E wireless adapter caused this issue, so be sure to check them first.
Fixing apc_index_mismatch ntoskrnl.exe doesn’t have to be a hassle, and in most cases, you can fix the problem by reinstalling or updating your drivers.
Did ever encounter this error on your PC? Share your solutions with us in the comments section below.
Microsoft has launched a bounty program for its Teams communication platform. With people now more than ever working remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions, there’s an increased need for robust security protocols to protect business communication apps such as Teams. Of course, the proactive involvement of security researchers from around the world is imperative to achieving this objective.
The Microsoft Teams bounty program will see white hat hackers get between $6,000 and $30,000 to sweep for high-impact vulnerabilities. Security researchers who find security issues related to cross-site scripting (XSS) are eligible for a reward that starts at $6,000. Microsoft underlines that exploits of this nature should only be in the context of teams.live.com or teams.microsoft.com. There should also be minimal user interaction involved. On the other hand, security loopholes that allow XSS code to be executed arbitrarily with no user interaction stand to get a $10,000 minimum payoff.
Third on the list in the Teams bounty program is obtaining a user’s authentication credentials. To qualify for the reward, a bounty hunter should demonstrate the ability to steal a user’s authentication token without relying on a phishing attack. The reward starts at $15,000. Highest on the list is the identification of an exploit allowing remote code execution in the context of a current client, while requiring no user interaction. For this effort, the company is paying out a minimum $30,000 award.
That said, vulnerabilities identified outside the High Impact program can qualify for a $500 minimum remuneration, but this is at the sole discretion of the company.
Participation Requirements
To participate in the Microsoft Teams bounty program, candidates are required to undertake testing on their own Teams subscription accounts. Additionally, the bugs reported must also be replicable on the latest Microsoft Teams desktop client version installed on the latest patched versions of Linux, Windows, or macOS.
Finally, Microsoft prefers that the exploit instructions be clear and relayed via text or video. In a nutshell, the submitted guidelines should allow the company’s security team to promptly replicate the scenario and ascertain exploitability.
A Recent Hack
The Microsoft Teams bounty program comes at a time when the company is facing serious competition from fast-rising group communication and collaboration platforms such as Slack and Zoom. With the recent Microsoft Exchange attack stirring individual clients and businesses that rely on its software, the tech giant is looking to mollify users by fortifying app security.
The Teams application has seen tremendous growth over the past year adding over 90 million users. It is also a key revenue generator for the Redmond-based tech firm. In 2020, its revenues reached $6.8 billion, an impressive 700 percent increase compared to the previous year. Today, over 500,000 organizations worldwide use the application.
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