Tech Help and Discussions

One good, one bad. This is the pattern many associate with new versions of Windows and with good reason: 1995 – Windows 95 – Good 1998 – Windows 98 – Bad 2000 – Windows 2000 – Good 2000 – Windows ME – Bad 2001 – Windows XP – Good 2007 – Windows Vista – Bad 2009 – Windows 7 – Good 2012 – Windows 8 – Bad Needless to say they are oversimplifications (I like a lot about Windows 8) but history suggests Windows 9 should be good and I’m happy to say a flurry of highly promising new leaks give us hope that this will be the case. Let’s break them down: User Interface – Return of the Start Menu Screenshots of the new Windows 9 start menu appeared last month and now …

Verizon is finally ready to acknowledge that cable TV just isn't working for a lot of us anymore. The company is planning to launch its Internet-based TV service that can be watched on mobile devices in the "late first half of 2015," Lowell McAdam, Verizon's CEO, said at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York on Thursday. It's unclear what exactly the service would look like, but McAdam said it would offer "a la carte" options, rather than being bundled like expensive cable packages are now. Think Netflix, but with live streaming. McAdam said at the conference that the service would include programming from "the big four" networks -- CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox.…

Windows 8.1′s user base is small, especially when compared to the now-ancient Windows XP, and Windows 7, which is approaching five years of age. Part of the reason for this is due to the introduction of features like the Charms menu, which turned a lot of Windows devotees off when it debuted with Windows 8 in 2012. Many of the Charms menu’s detractors feel that it was an unnecessary addition that just made Windows 8 and 8.1 a bigger headache to use. Thankfully, with the use of a simple program, there’s a way to disable the Charms menu once and for all. By the way, if you think the site/author may be iffy, don’t worry. We scanned the folder and the app’s execute-abl…

Nearly five million usernames and passwords associated with Google Gmail accounts were hacked and leaked Tuesday on a Russian Bitcoin security Relevant Products/Services forum. According to a Tweet from Peter Kruse, a Danish cybersecurity expert, the data Relevant Products/Services likely originated from a number of data breaches, not just one. Most of the passwords were more than three years old, he added. Even though the information appears to be outdated, security experts recommend that people regularly update their passwords in the event of such breaches. They also suggest that Gmail users take advantage of the two-factor authentication system, which offers an a…

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The September 2014 Update Tuesday rollout is very close, but users are still having problems with patches released by the company last month. KB2918614 appears to be one of the botched updates, as many reports published by users who installed it indicate some really unusual errors experienced when trying to install MSI files. As Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld reports today, some of the errors that users are getting include “error 997.overlapped I/O operation in progress,” “key not valid for use in specific state,” and “SECREPAIR: A general error running CryptAcquireContext MSI (s) (3C:10) [09:27:13:873]: SECREPAIR: Crypt Provider not initialized. Error:-2146893813.” …

Hey guys, I purchased a used touchscreen but not seeing a power button to turn on, I touched the screen too but nothing, there isn't a sticker anywhere on this unit so i don't know the brand or model, any ideas please?

Apparently the August 2014 Windows update for Windows 7 and 8.1 MS14-045 is faulty and Microsoft recommend uninstalling it. I found out about this from an article in a computer magazine I read. The article pointed me to the appropriate Microsoft web page to find out more (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2982791). If I had not read the magazine I would not have known as the problems that some have experienced seem not to have manifested themselves on my Windows 7 desktop. The procedure that Microsoft recommend to remove the update is somewhat complicated and, as it involves registry editing, not without risk for the average computer user. As my system so far seems n…

Those looking for Windows XP updates in 2014 are out of luck if they are searching for a new download from Microsoft. But WinXP continues to have a diehard fanbase, and some of them are creating an unofficial Windows XP Service Pack 4 download that pulls together all the official Windows XP updates into one installation. In a related report by The Inquisitr, it’s believed that Windows 9 will be the first true unified operating system that may allow developers to create a seamless experience across multiple devices, from desktops to laptops to tablets and smartphones. Check out the article if you want to see what that could mean for your average day on the computer. …

Home Depot has yet to confirm that its United States stores were hit by massive theft of customer credit- and debit-cards, but evidence is increasing. Some security experts fear the rumored Home Depot data breach might be larger than Target's last year, which affected 40 million payment cards and 70 million personal accounts. Even if Home Depot isn't the source of the stolen cards, an enormous trove of American credit- and debit-card numbers have recently appeared on clandestine black market websites. Due to where and how the numbers are being sold, the thieves behind this card "dump" may be the same group responsible for the Target data breach. MORE: How to Surviv…

Within the past three days every time i click the back arrow i get a "Document Expired" messaged. Other than resetting firefox to it's default is there a fix?

SAN FRANCISCO - A massive batch of credit and debit card information that went on sale on a criminal Internet site Tuesday may be from Home Depot stores and could be linked to hackers previously responsible for breaches at Target and P.F. Chang's, security experts say. The credit card information was first offered up for sale Tuesday on an underground site that traffics in stolen financial information, security author Brian Krebs reported on his blog, Krebsonsecurity.com. The breach could have begun in late April or early May of this year, Krebs reported. If that is true, this incident could dwarf the Target breach, in which 40 million credit and debit accounts wer…

I have been wondering about the stability of Windows 8 for sometime. My second desktop is a Dell All-in-One 2300 with a 3rd Gen i-5 3350 and 8 gb ram. I use this about 4 hours a day and by the 4th hour it totally freezes on me and I have to hold down the power button to shut it down and then it comes back up just fine. I have scanned with everything imaginable from Adw Cleaner to Mbam, Junkware Removal, Hitman Pro and Combofix and removed a few minor issues. I have run chkdsk /r, defragged until blue in the face, limited startup and yet it happens almost every night. I should add all Windows updates are done and it is upgraded to 8.1 version and I have run memtest86 an…

It is a known fact that crooks leverage any major event for their nefarious purposes. The Ice Bucket Challenge raising money for research leading to finding a cure for ALS (Amyothrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease) seems like too good an opportunity to pass. Although the most obvious danger is to divert the donation to the accounts of the cybercriminals, there is also the possibility of phishing; the fake pages collect all the details entered in the forms and send them to a malicious location. As far as the information that can be gathered is concerned, it is sufficient for stealing the identity of the victim, as well as for emptying the bank account. …

Is there a list of "safe program download sites"? I tried downloading a "free voice recorder" program from "Major Geeks" & received a malware warning!

In winpatrol i noticed the following........ Program: jmesoft Exe Name: ServiceLeader.Exe I googled the above & there were many comments but nothing conclusive. I could disable it & see what happens but i hesitate to do so.

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Since i reset my computer to factory default i lost "CryptoPrevent". Where do i download it from?

Another interesting free program from "Gizmo" http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/see-who-your-pcs-talking.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gizmosbest+%28Gizmo%27s+Best-ever+Freeware%29

I'm considering joining "Twitter". What are the advantages/disadvantages? Can it harm one's computer?