How to spot and avoid installing potentially unwanted programs. This is a good example of all the hidden traps & pitfalls you have to watch out for when installing a new program.
How to spot and avoid installing potentially unwanted programs | PCWorld
Here are some tricks and traps to look out for during software installations.
I opened Windows Defender, and it said "Potentially Unprotected" scan hasn't been ran in awhile. but I got it set to automatic scans everyday, I ran a scan and it still says the same thing.
View 9 Replies View RelatedI installed a PDF metadata editor from the formerly respectable site Download.com (CNET). Turns out they joined the DARK side:
Despite me DECLINING all dodgy offers by the installer, it STILL installed a bunch of unwanted junk on my machine.
I've now spent an hour on and off trying to get rid of this junk. Just as I thought I was more or less done, I get an "Alert" from the "Microsoft Advanced System Protector" (yeah, right...)
I have of course checked in Add/Remove programs and uninstalled what I could find (although the uninstall hung).
I used HijackThis and deleted all the changes this junkware used. I am trying to restore homepages for my browsers.
I don't use antivirus, and I doubt it would have reacted to this junk which probably passes for real software.
Each time I run my backup program (SynchBack SE) I get the following message;
"Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer",
which I always say 'Yes' to.
Now, I understand this is a security feature, and I think I can probably inhibit this by changing the User Access Controls (UAC). However, what I really want to do is to confirm this program can run, and not be asked again, whereas I think the UAC is a more global setting. Is there a solution to this that won't mean tweaking the UAC level?
The reason why I am wary about tweaking the UAC level is because I 'think' this will be system wide, and I don't want to reduce security for all users on my PC.
Or, maybe I have just got UAC all wrong, I am not clear TBH on all the in's and out's of UAC.
Some info on using the GMER.exe program for root scanning?
HP pavilion g6-2225nr
Win 8 X64 6.2.9v IE 10
Norton 360 2014
I use the firewall Online Armor from Emisisoft. It works perfectly on windows 7 but when I installed it on win 8 I cannot access internet. During the installation it asked to install some kind of network so I allowed it and also added emisisoft to the trusted vendors on win 8. So is there any way to remove Emisisoft from trusted vendors list on win 8?
View 4 Replies View Related my dell Inspiron running Windows 8 keeps freezing at the same spot every time I use it now for the past day, and has to be manual powered off, before that I had no problems. Its an old dell, about 5 y/o but have had no problems before this. When I start it up, it can sometimes freeze out of nowhere on the desktop, and if I start it up, and go to shut it down, it will freeze on the shut down. It also ALWAYS freezes when I try to load itunes, but chrome is fine.
I have done an error check on the hard drive in my computer and it said no errors. One thing I have noticed, is when I start the computer, in task manager, the Disk activity is always at 99/100% and when I load itunes, the CPU goes to 100% consistently. But I have all things on start up disabled apart from skydrive.
Few bits of info on computer: Only running defender as antivirus 4gb Ram
Have tried to do a system refresh/restore but the computer freezes everytime while its in progress
so I bought my laptop two months ago (a Vaio SVE1112M1EW) and was able to connect to Wifi in my house easily. But then when I moved to other places, I wasn't able to connect to any Wifi spot!
When I come back home I can connect again. So I think the Wifi should be working but the settings are not right.
How to see other computer(s) in a free wifi spot area?
The case: We have here 2 laptops (Windows 8) side by side in free wifi spot . I know that in such spots, for safety purposes I have to set my laptop not to share and mine is set accordingly.
But how can I see the other laptop next to mine on my own screen? It is my mom's brand new laptop. It is not set for safe hot spot browsing by default. So, I should be able to see it, but how?
So, question is how to set my laptop to show my mom's laptop sitting next to mine? I believe something must be set in control panels, perhaps?
i am using a software for trail version of 7 days, after that if i install it says license is invalid. So i formatted my complete hard drive and installed os windows 8.1. Later i installed software again, actually i need to get a trail version of 7 days, but it is saying that license is invalid.
I want to know weather after even formatting is some registry files are not cleared..
I have Windows 8 and Windows 7 installed in my desktop PC and it goes into "hibernation" after a few minutes sleep. I quoted "hibernates" because I'm not sure this is truly Hibernation, perhaps it's some special Asrock hibernation or something.
After about 20 minutes sleep, the PC starts and then shuts off by itself, but when I turn it on again, you get a black screen first (nothing else, no "resuming from hibernation", nothing) and after a minute or so all appears as you left it before putting it to sleep, as if it had resumed from hibernation.
It happens with both Windows 7 and Windows 8. I'd rather it didn't go into hibernation, but remain in sleep mode.
I've tried all options in Power Options > Change Advanced power settings, so I'm sure it's not related to power options.
I think this has to do with UEFI settings or it's some Asrock feature, but I don't which, I've tried some.
I've already disabled and deleted hyberfil.sys
Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Pro3
Processor: Intel Core i5 3450
I was wondering if there was a way to avoid login when switching between accounts. I have things set up so I automatically login when I start the computer and when I awake from sleep.
But if my wife is using the computer and switches to her account, when I switch back, I have to sign in.
I could, I suppose change mine to a local account (like hers), but is there a way to do it with a microsoft account?
There have been a lot of questions about how to boot directly into desktop and avoid Metro. My question is just the opposite. When I'm in Metro and I open an app, it first brings up the desktop and then the app on top of it. I would like to open an app without opening desktop. Is there a way?
View 7 Replies View RelatedWhen I go to a site such as YouTube and click on the arrow to play the video nothing plays, it just shows a blank white spot. Sometimes FF also gets all wonky when I try to play a video. I disabled Flashblock but flash still isn't working. My FF is up to date with the latest version.
View 6 Replies View RelatedSince upgrading to windows 8/8.1 x64 i have twice had this situation when during boot up windows tries automatic repair & fails , every time i restart same repair fail happens , its stuck in this cycle , neither "Refresh" or "Reset" option works , . I have to do a fresh format & install , loose all my files stored in the OS partition , I even tried to recover the files using linux boot cd but the folders were inaccessible/corrupted .
I tried every solution i could find to make it boot including Unable to refresh or reset PC after Automatic Repair fails in Windows 8 but nothing worked .
This has happened twice in the one year since i have been using Win 8 , Is there any way to avoid this from happening i future ?
I use my cell phone for internet access on my laptop, since it can act as a portable wifi access point.
The problem I'm having is that every time I connect, Windows 8.1 creates a new profile. So I started with "Phone access point", then I got "Phone access point 2" on the second connection, "Phone access point 3" on the third connection, and so on and so on, creating a new profile every time I connect.
Is there any way I can tell Windows 8.1 to use the same network profile whenever it connects to "Phone access point", since it's the same connection as it was last time. It does it correctly for all the other wifi access points I connect to: home, work,, the only one that's causing a problem is the phone's connection.
I am a traditionalist and so run permanently in "desktop" mode because I don't like the look and feel of the new Windows 8.
Ever since I installed Windows 8.1 a blank green Microsoft "Store" window pops up from time to time on my desktop. When I click on it, the green is replaced by a normal Store page advertising trending apps, etc.
This unwanted Store pop-up seems to appear at random intervals and is a real nuisance. I certainly never expected to get unwanted advertising pop-ups from a company like Microsoft!
How to get rid of this annoying intrusion?
My laptop is running Win 8.1 x64. On the same home network my PC (Win 7 Pro) is running a new Win 8 x86 install in a VM (VMware Player). Both were set up using the same Microsoft account rather than local accounts. What is sending me apoplectic is that if I change my desktop background on either system it causes the other to change too. If both systems have the same themes available then both will display the same theme. If not then the second system will display its default desktop theme.
I can only think that this is a completely unintended consequence of using a Microsoft account.
Windows 8 waits several seconds before it start my programs that are set to auto start. I would like to make Windows 8 behave like older variant. This new feature is of no value to me and annoying. The apps start too late and steal focus, or I just watch and wait stupidly for the apps to start while the system is basically idle... It's a lot quicke to start the apps manually lot of the, which of course defeats one main reason for auto-start.
View 8 Replies View RelatedRecently upgraded to Windows 8.1 on three PC's on home network but now I'm having a problem on my ASUS VivoTab Smart Tablet.
My main login screen has been setup to show three (3) users but shortly after upgrading, it started showing a fourth user. The user name for this fourth user is "zqtjerxnjfcz". When I clicked on it, it started the customizing process for a new user. As soon as I could I signed out and logged in under my own account and then deleted this new unwanted account but it keeps returning, usually after a restart or signing out and back in.
I am trying to delete some network connections that I have never used, how they came into being. They are NGSKM, TRENDnet and G4257
They don't appear in net show: netsh wlan show profiles
The only one that appears is ZFHL2, our local network.
Of course, they are not found if I try to delete them with: netsh wlan delete profile name="TRENDnet"
How do I delete them ?
I have just started using Win 8.1, and, on opening the Photos app I notice that there are "non" photo folders included.
I discovered that it looks like any folder containing photos or pictures gets added to the app.
Any way to restrict folder additions to those contained in a specific folder on the hard drive,[e.g. " Pictures"]...
When I delete either the original or the duplicate, the other file is deleted as well and, when I restore the single example from the recycle bin, both are restored.
My own solution is:-
1) Drag and drop the original file onto its duplicate into the picture folder.
2) Stop creating files on the desktop.
However, I wonder if there is a better way of doing this that would allow me to create files on the desktop again. I often use the desktop to convert RAW photo files, prior to filing them in the picture folder, which may have something to do with this.
how to delete the masses of unwanted foreign 'system fonts' that came with my new Win 8.1 machine.
I know they don't slow up staring time in this version of Windows but they wreck your font selection in word processors. The 'hide' command is already on but it does nothing, they still show up in the font selection.
This system is:-
Asus T200 transformer
Windows 8.1
system is fresh apart from installation of a start menu and word processor.
[I use 6 a month old desktop with XP as my main computer]
I am running a Win 7 OS on an SSD and I have some programs installed on a different hard drive. And I want to move this program files folder on the same hard drive but different partition. Is it possible to do this without breaking the program links?
View 9 Replies View RelatedI am having the same problem from here: [URL]
But now 10 years later on windows 8.1 ....
I just tried to integrate MSU updates to W8 Install.wim by DISM. I executed (after other commands):
Code:
DISM /image:C:mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:MSU
In C:MSU I have:
Code:
96 File(s) 797˙689˙211 bytes
20. 06. 2013 03:08 9˙602˙439 AMD64_ARM_X86-all-windows8-rt-kb2840632-x86_5a2074567fbc6cb4e7339dfb8adbeadfaa58b766.msu
24. 10. 2012 01:35 8˙215˙009 AMD64_IA64_X86-all-windows8-rt-kb2729462-x86_3a6f7896b3481f266299544594f1e7bcbb07701a.msu
[Code] .....
Error: 0x800f082f
Package XXXXXXXXXXXXXX may have failed due to pending updates to servicing components in the image. Try the command again.
dism.jpg
I don't see any option to hide the updates which you don't want to install. In windows 7, one can simply right click and choose hide the update, but no such thing in windows 8.1.
View 6 Replies View RelatedInitially on Win7, I was manually updating Security Essentials when was offline from this link:
How to manually download the latest definition updates for Microsoft Security Essentials
You choose x86 or x64 and go from there.
What's not mentioned, is that you can use the same links to update Windows Defender on Windows 8 as well.
I've been doing this for quite some time without issues. So the two programs are very much alike.
Which registry settings should I change to set the top two default Windows rules back to 'Unrestricted' ?
I set up some rules in the local security policy some time ago when there was fuss in the news about the cryptolocker virus. They looked a lot like the rules above (I found that screenshot online as I can't take one myself, read on..)
Today I was installing some software that wanted access to the areas I restricted. I temporarily disabled the rules, then re-enabled them. Being a dumbass I also set the top two rules (which are Windows default rules) to Disallowed!
Over the following 10 minutes various aspects of my PC stopped working, telling me that the local security policy prevented access. I couldn't even get into the Control Panel or the Local Security Policy screen to change it back, once I realised what I had done. I rebooted the machine - it won't come back up
I've tried a system restore by booting from the installer on USB (which did not work, it grumbled that it could not restore due a file locked by anti-virus) so I think I've got two options:
Refresh my system using the Windows 8 tools - but I suspect that might leave the LSP rules in place, as it retains my settings & preferences.Hand edit the registry to correct the settings.
Option 2 is looking best, I can get into RegEdit from the recovery console, but I'm not sure what to edit and what to set it to? This is on Windows 8.1 Pro...
I came to some trouble installing CorelDraw software which apparently uses for it's setup launcher web active container performed by IE core. If I launch setup, the setup windows is evidently noninitialized showing the top warning band about active content being blocked for security reasons. Even allowing active content by selecting from the top bar menu doesn't make the setup continue. So now I'd need to temporarily bypass all IE's security checks, ie. allow everything. What I already did was browsing the security tab in IE options and allowing most of the choices in branches ActiveX controls and plugin modules + Scripting (Local Intranet). On Advanced tab I have checked in Security branch Allow execution of active content from CD discs on this computer + Allow execution of active content from files on this computer. Nothing of these affecting the installer to run (ie. I still see then active content blocking bar).
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