One of the smoother things that Microsoft did with the Windows 10 operating system is to separate Cortana from Search. This means that Cortana is strictly now a voice assistant and many users have seen it coming since not everyone uses Cortana. In addition, it also paved the way for other virtual assistants like Alexa to get on board with Windows 10. And now in the newly released Windows 10 v1903, Windows has brought the Voice Activation under Privacy. In this post, you will be guided on how to perform the Voice Activation troubleshooting on your Windows 10 computer. To use Voice Activation in Windows 10, follow, in the Start Search, type “voice activation” and click on “Voice activation privacy settings” listed in the search results. And from there, you can choose to allow apps to use Microphone, like listen in the background as well as select which app can access it. Each time enabled voice assistants continue to listen via microphone for the voice keyword, the app will activate itself for the keyword and will react depending on what you ask it. So if you are using a voice assistant and it didn’t respond when you speak the keyword, just go to Settings > Privacy > Voice Activation and follow these steps:

Option 1: Check the App permission to use the voice activation feature.

You have to make sure that the toggle button for the Voice activation feature is turned on globally. It can be found under the “Allow apps to use voice activation” section. You also have to ensure that the microphone is available for apps that use this feature.

Option 2: Voice activation is not working under the lock screen.

If you tend to use the voice assistant even when your computer is locked, Microsoft has a specific setting that you have to turn on. You need to make sure that the toggle button for the “Allow apps to use voice activation when this device is locked” option is turned on. However, keep in mind that the voice assistants are not locked to only recognize your voice as they also answer to anyone who will use the voice keyword.

Option 3: Check the individual permissions of apps.

If the voice assistant is not working, you have to check each one of the apps’ permissions for voice keyword, and the option to work under locked condition works.

Option 4: Run the Microphone troubleshooter.

If you’ve verified that the settings are in place, then you have to run the Microphone troubleshooter by simply going to Settings > Privacy > Microphone. From there, make sure that the toggle button for the following options is turned on:

• Allow apps to access your microphone
• Enable microphone access for the voice assistant

And if it’s a desktop app, you have to enable the toggle on at the end.

Steam Deck release is almost upon us and more news comes to light. The Latest officially confirmed technical detail is that the user will have access to device's BIOS and that dual booting will be officially supported. This, of course, means that you will be able to have both Proton and Windows on your device letting you play anything that you wish if the hardware is strong enough. Valve also said that you can launch OS from an SD card! This of course will save space available for games themselves, especially for entry models with less than one available. All of this information really pushes Deck into the territory of a handheld PC and not just another console and I must admit that this announcement left a smile on my face.

We have all been there, unfortunately, the application freezes, and sometimes it can even freeze whole windows. Well if the whole Windows freezes because of the application there is not much we can do except hard reset but if only the application freezes we can still kill it and return the PC in working condition. The first thing you can try is to press ALT + F4, this shortcut is for closing the program, if the application is frozen Windows will try to close it when using this shortcut, and if it succeeds you will find yourself on the desktop environment in Windows with non-responsive application taken care of. If however, this fails and the application is not closed, try ending it in the task manager. To open task manager press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC, locate unresponsive application select it, and click on the end task button on the bottom right.

SmartScreen is a cloud-based anti-phishing and anti-malware component that’s come packed in all Windows 8 (8.1) and Windows 10 versions. This security component is also used in several browsers and programs like Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Outlook.com. Although this program is quite useful, there’ve been reports that SmartScreen is apparently blocking Microsoft’s own apps from opening. According to some users, they only get the “Windows SmartScreen can’t be reached right now” error message every time they try to open apps from the built-in Windows suite like Photos, Mail, Alarms, Maps, etc. Whenever Windows SmartScreen is either down or unreachable on an end-user PC, your computer won’t be able to download anything in both official and unofficial channels. This error might be due to a corrupted Windows account, or it could be that SmartScreen is disabled from the Windows Defender Security Center or it might be down due to an MS issue. In addition, the error might also be caused by a proxy entry.

Option 1 – Make sure that SmartScreen is enabled

Before anything else, the first thing you must do is to check if SmartScreen is even enabled as it might be the reason why you’re getting the error. You can verify this by simply going to the Windows Defender Security Center. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “ms-settings:windowsdefender” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Defender Security Center.
• After that, click on the Open Windows Defender Security Center button located under Windows Security.
• Then click on App & browser control.
• From there, make sure that the Check apps and files toggle is set to Warn and then check the same thing for Microsoft Edge and SmartScreen for Microsoft Store apps.
• If it turns out that SmartScreen is indeed disabled, you have to restart your computer after making some changes and then check if the issue is fixed upon the next startup.

Option 2 – Check if SmartScreen is down for maintenance

Another possible reason why SmartScreen is not working is that it might be scheduled for maintenance. When SmartScreen is scheduled for maintenance, it will become unreachable for a lot of users at the same time and so before you go over unnecessary troubleshooting steps, you need to verify if SmartScreen is down for maintenance or not.

Option 3 – Try to disable the proxy server

If applicable, you can try to disable the proxy server to fix SmartScreen. There are some users who reported that they’ve fixed the problem after they’ve disabled the use of a proxy server using the built-in way. In some instances, certain proxy servers can interfere with the SmartScreen component and cause it to become unusable. However, if you are not using a proxy server, just skip this option and proceed to the next one, otherwise, follow the steps below to disable the proxy server.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “ms-settings:network-proxy” in the field and hit Enter to open the Proxy tab under Settings.
• After that, scroll down to the Manual proxy setup and make sure that the toggle button of the “Use a proxy server” option is turned off.
• Now restart your PC and check if the problem is fixed upon the next startup.

Option 4 – Try to create a new Windows user account

There are some users who were able to fix the problem by simply creating a new Windows user account. Although this solution will make you lose a couple of settings enforced through your user account, it’s actually effective in circumventing the “Windows SmartScreen can’t be reached right now” error. To create a new Windows user account, here’s what you have to do:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• And then type “ms-settings:otherusers” in the field and hit Enter to open the Family & other people tab under the Accounts menu.
• After that, click on the “Add someone else to this PC” option and then click on “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
• Next, insert the user credentials like emails, password, birth date, etc., and then click Next. Take note that if you want to create a new local user account, just click on Add a user without a Microsoft account.
• After you’re done creating the new Windows user account, click the start icon and then click the account icon and choose to Sign out.
• After you’re logged in, check if SmartScreen now works properly or not.

Over the years, the Windows 10 updates have smoothened but that does not mean that it no longer encounter some issues. One of these issues is when it gets stuck. As you know, Windows automatically checking for updates regularly or when you click the “Check for updates” button. However, if the Windows 10 update is taking forever and seems to be stuck, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on what you can do to resolve the problem. This kind of scenario in Windows Updates can be quite confusing especially since there is no response or any indication of what is really happening since you don’t know if the update is still downloading or if it’s already getting installed. To resolve this problem, there are several options you can check out. You can try to exit settings and restart your computer. You could also try to restart the services related to Windows Update or clear both the Software Distribution and Catroot2 folders, as well as run a System File Checker scan. For more details follow each one of the given steps below.

Option 1 – Restart your computer

The most basic thing you can do to fix the problem is to restart your computer. It usually works in fixing common issues like the Windows Update getting stuck at the “Checking for updates” screen. However, if it didn’t work, proceed to the next given options below.

Option 2 – Reset Windows Update components

If the first two options did not work then you might want to reset the Windows Update components manually. Follow the steps below to reset them.

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS, and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 3 – Try checking Services Dependencies

Dependencies of a Windows Service in Windows 10 are when windows services depend on other services. Such is the case with the Windows Update service – it also depends on three different services such as the Remote Procedure Call or RPC service, DCOM Server Process Launcher, and the RPC Endpoint Mapper. Meaning to say, if two of these services are not working as expected, then the dependent service will also be affected. This could be the reason why the Windows Update service could not start.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open Windows Services.
• From the list of Services, look for the following services:
  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
  • DCOM Server Process Launcher
  • RPC Endpoint Mapper
• After you find these services, double click on each one of them and check whether the Startup type for all is set to Automatic and the Service status is set to Running or not.
• If the service status is not running, then click the Start button. Afterward, check if you can now run the Windows Update service.

Option 4 – Check the Background Intelligent Service and the Cryptographic Service

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open Services.
• From the list of Services, look for the following services and make sure that their Startup type is as follows:
  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service – Manual
  • Cryptographic Service ­– Automatic
• After that, check if the Service status of the listed services above is set to Running. If they’re not, click on the Start button to start these services and then check if you can now enable the Windows Update service or not.

Option 5 – Try running the System File Checker

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files that might be the cause why your screen is stuck at “Checking for updates”. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

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

• Restart your computer.

The latest security vulnerability was discovered inside both Windows 10 and Windows 11 letting any user access admin privileges inside the operating system. This can, of course, be used by a potential attacker to get full control of the system. The problem lies in Microsoft's security rules assigned to the Windows Registry and the Security Account Manager. Both for some reason have reduced restrictions allowing any local user to fully access the files without administrator privileges. The problem is even more amplified if we think about Security Account Manager which includes all account data including the passwords of all users using the same PC. This can provide a potential attacker with all information and let them log on into the administrator account for full control. Microsoft is aware of the matter and is tracking it with code CVE-2021-36934, and includes a complete workaround for the issue, which includes restricting access to  %windir%\system32\config and deleting any restore points or Shadow volumes that were created before that point until the hole is plugged with an official security patch.

It is common to run multiple programs and applications at the same time and it’s important to be able to switch between them using their Taskbar icons or using the usual Alt + Tab shortcut. However, there are times when you might suddenly find that neither of the aforementioned methods worked and you will no longer be able to switch between programs in the Windows Taskbar. To fix this issue, refer to the options given in this post. For instance, when you have multiple instances of Microsoft Edge running and every time you press the Alt + Tab combo nothing happens so you are left with no choice but to minimize everything and then hover your mouse on the icon and switch between the instances of Edge. You will also notice that the right-click on the taskbar won’t respond back and will only keep on showing the loading circle icon. Here are a few tips you can follow to fix the issue with the Windows 10 Taskbar.

Option 1 – Try to restart the Windows Explorer

This is one of the basic things you can try as restarting Windows Explorer helps in refreshing the user interface and makes most of the things work in relation to the user interface.

• To get started, tap the Alt + Ctrl + Del keys to pull up the Windows Task Manager.
• After opening Task Manager, look for “explorer.exe” under the list of programs.
• Once you find the explorer.exe, right-click on it and click Restart.

Option 2 – Try changing the Foreground Lock Time

Aside from restarting Windows Explorer, you could also try changing the Foreground Lock Time to fix the issue with the Taskbar.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type in regedit in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, go to this registry key – HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop
• Next, change the ForegroundLockTimeout value from200000 to 0. After that, it will make sure that no other application will take away the focus from your current program or application. It could be that some other application has taken away the focus and even when you try to actually switch, the focus gets back to the old one. Anyhow, since you already changed the value of ForegroundLockTimeout, it will ensure that the focus is not switched.

Note: If you are running some Full-Screen applications there are some devices especially the gaming ones, disable the Windows key to make sure that you won’t be able to switch. If this is the case, you need to make some modifications to the Full-Screen games.

If you are having issues with your network connection and you have it configured to DHCP, then you shouldn’t have any issues in figuring your IP address out. If you want to prevent conflicts between network devices and enable their easy management, then you have to set a static IP address in your Windows 10 computer, worry not for this post will show you how it’s done. The IP addresses for computers are usually configured to the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or DHCP automatically by the respective router. This is really convenient since the devices instantly connect to your network and through this, you can save yourself the trouble of configuring the IP address for each new device manually. However, there’s a shortfall in the process – the computer’s IP address can change every now and then. Moreover, you might also find it a lot easier to share a printer or configure a Port forwarding when you set a static IP address. There are three ways to do it – you can set it via Control Panel or Windows Settings or using Windows PowerShell. For more details, follow the options provided below.

Option 1 – Set a static IP address via Control Panel

• Right-click on the network or Wi-Fi icon located in the Taskbar.
• Then select the “Open Network and Internet settings” option from the given list of options.
• Next, go to Wi-Fi settings and scroll down until you see the “Related Settings” section. Here, click on the “Change adapter options” link which will open a new window that will direct you to the Network Connections section of the Control Panel.
• After that, right-click on the network connection you want to set a static IP address for and then select the Properties option.
• Then select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) under the Networking tab and click the Properties button.
• Now switch the selector to the “Use the following IP address” option and make the entry for the following fields that correspond to your network setup.
  • IP address (Find it using the “ipconfig /all” command)
  • Subnet Mask (On a home network, it is 255.255.255.0)
  • Default Gateway (It is your router’s IP address.)

• Then check the “Validate settings upon exit” option to help Windows check your new IP address quickly as well as the other relevant information to make sure that it’s working.
• Once you’re done, click the OK button and close the network adapter’s properties window.

Option 2 – Assign Static IP address using Settings

• First, click on the gear icon for Settings and select the Network & Internet tab.
• Next, select Wi-Fi > Current connection where you’ll have to select the network connection your computer is connected to.
• After that, scroll down until you reach the IP settings section and then click the Edit button.
• Now click the drop-down arrow when the IP settings window pops up and select the Manual option.
• Now turn on the IPv4 toggle switch and set the static IP address. You also have to set the Subnet prefix length (subnet mask). For instance, if your subnet mask is “255.255.255.0”, then the subnet prefix length in bits should be 24.
• Afterward, configure the Default Gateway address and the Preferred DNS address and then save the changes you’ve made.

Option 3 – Assign the static IP address using Windows PowerShell

• In the Start Search, type “PowerShell” and right-click on Windows PowerShell from the search results to open PowerShell with admin privileges.
• After that, enter this command to view your computer’s current network configuration: Get-NetIPConfiguration
• Next, take note of the following information:
  • InterfaceIndex
  • IPv4Address
  • IPv4DefaultGateway
  • DNSServer

• Once you’re done, execute this command to set a static IP address: New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceIndex 15 -IPAddress 192.168.29.34 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.168.29.1
• Afterward, change the default gateway with the default gateway address of your network and make sure that you change the InterfaceIndex number with the one that corresponds to your adapter and IPAddress with the IP address you want to assign to your computer.
• Now execute this command to assign a DNS server address: Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceIndex 4 -ServerAddresses 10.1.2.1
• Finally, save the changes you’ve made and restart your computer.

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Effective Error 0x800ccc92 Repair

0x800ccc92 - What is it?

The 0x800ccc92 is a Microsoft Outlook error. The error restricts your ability to send and receive emails on your Outlook email address successfully. This error is very similar to 0x800cc90 and 0x800ccc91 Outlook error codes. The 0x800ccc92 error message is often displayed as:

‘Receiving reported error (0x800ccc92): Your email server rejected your login.’

This error is quite common and is faced by many Microsoft Outlook users. It is advisable to fix this error immediately because besides restricting you from sending and receiving emails via Outlook, due to this error the data on your Outlook also becomes inaccessible and unreadable, and sometimes Outlook also begins to freeze unexpectedly.

Error Causes

Some of the most common causes of the error code 0x800ccc92 are:

• PST files get corrupt
• Incorrect Outlook configuration settings
• PST file crosses its fixed file size limit
• Failure of POP3 and Protocol STMP in database server connection
• Improper synchronization between Outlook and the server
• Usage of invalid password or username
• Virus Infection

Further Information and Manual Repair

Any of the above causes may result in the 0x800ccc92 error message display. If you encounter this Outlook error, you don’t need to panic and call the network personnel in your office to fix and repair the error. In fact, it is very easy to fix and you can repair it by yourself: Here are some of the best and easy ways to resolve this error in the shortest time:

• If the error message 0x0800ccc92 is displayed as POP3: Invalid Password, then in this case it is advisable to cross-check your Outlook account ID and password. Sometimes this error message may pop up if you insert an incorrect password or ID. Therefore the best way to resolve it to check where you went wrong and then re-enter your ID and Password correctly.

If the error is not related to POP3 (Post Office Protocol) then you can try some other alternative to resolve this issue.

• Another alternative is to install the latest available Server Service Pack for Exchange. This solution works best if compatibility is the issue.
• However, when nothing works, then it is advisable to download PST repair tool. The PST repair software is designed to scan, detect, repair, and resolve Outlook errors like 0x800ccc92.  The PST repair software is built with special algorithms that help repair PST corrupt files in seconds. This tool works on all Windows Operating Systems including Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2003, and Windows 2008.

1. All you need to do is, download and install this software on your system.
2. Once you download it, run it on your PC to detect errors.
3. Press scan to get started
4. The scanning may take about a couple of minutes to complete.
5. Once it is complete, click on the repair tab to fix the errors.
6. Now restart your Outlook again and now try sending emails. This solution is likely to work if the above-mentioned solutions don’t.

Congratulations, you have just fixed the 0x800ccc92 Error Code in Windows 10 all by yourself. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily. Now that’s how you fix the 0x800ccc92 Error Code in Windows 10 on a computer. On the other hand, if your computer is going through some system-related issues that have to get fixed, there is a one-click solution known as [product-name] you could check out to resolve them. This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For a complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow the instructions below.

1. 1. 1. Download and install [product-code] from the official site.
      2. Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.
      3. After the scan is completed click the “Start Repair” button.

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Privacy is a hot topic lately in all circles so naturally themes like private or incognito browsing pop up immediately as discussion topics. Naturally, when discussing private or incognito browsing it is very important to understand what exactly private or incognito browsing is, what does it do and how it works in order to shed some light on is it really private and safe as we are told. So, when you browse the internet normally websites have tendencies to save your browsing data, save cookies, remember passwords, etc in order to provide you with a better surfing experience next time you visit that same site. Private or incognito browsing treats you as a completely new user which is the first time visiting a given website. It clears all your data, including your browsing history, cookies, etc., on exiting. Every website you visit in private or incognito mode treats you as a new visitor, even if you have visited it before in incognito mode. And basically, that's it. So is it really private? No, it is just a non-remembering mode of internet browsing where after your browsing session history and other data is cleared from the browser, but while you are on the internet you are pretty visible to all like any other normal user. There are a lot of misconceptions and wrong thinking about browsing the internet in this mode so let's take a look at some typical ones.

1. The government and other companies can not track me

   Many people think that the Government cannot trace their identity when they surf privately. This is only a myth. There are many ways by which the Government can reach you if you do something illegal. When you surf online, you are connected with an ISP of your area, which helps the officials track your location.

2. Virus and other malware can not infect me while in private or incognito mode

   Many people think that private mode protects them from virus and malware attacks. It is not true because malware and viruses can enter your PC through a software download, phishing email, etc. To protect your PC from virus and malware attacks, you should have good security software.

3. My IP address is hidden when I am in incognito or private browsing mode

   This is not 100% true. If you search “What is my IP” in incognito and standard mode, you will get the same results. This means that websites can view your IP address in private mode also. Using a VPN would be a good option if you want to hide your IP.

4. I can not be tracked via ads

   Since cookies are deleted after exiting private browsing, many people think that ads cannot track them. When you surf in incognito mode, the browser saves cookies in a temporary mode, allowing ads to track you during your entire private browsing session.

5. I am not visible when I am in incognito or private

   You may think if you sign in to your Gmail or other social media accounts in private mode, no one will see you online. This is not true. It does not matter whether you have signed into your account in normal mode or incognito mode; others can always spot you online.

In your regular browsing mode, you may have some addons, extensions, themes, etc installed and you can use them. They may track your activities. The data is deleted when you exit the browser. When you use the private browsing mode, the browser is loaded in its original form, typically without the installed addons, extension, themes, etc. The data gets deleted when you exit the browser. This mode doesn’t save data to disk but keeps it in memory during the current session. If you are really concerned about your privacy we have articles about using DuckDuckGo and deep web where you can be sure that your browsing sessions are encrypted.