Windows 10 Desktop and Lock Screen Background Slideshow Reset to Picture

Today we are going to address a weird and annoying problem present in Windows 10 operating system. As you know Windows 10 allows users to set pictures slideshow as Desktop background as well as Lock Screen background. You can select desired folders containing images and set the slideshow as the background of Desktop and Lock Screen using Settings -> Personalization -> Background and Lock Screen pages.

PROBLEM SYMPTOM:

Sometimes when you set image slideshow as background of Desktop or Lock Screen, after some time it automatically resets to Picture. Recently an AskVG reader "Al" contacted us regarding similar problem. Here is a small excerpt from his comment:

When my lockscreen and wallpapers are both set on slideshow, it works fine, but when I go back in just a few minutes after doing other things, no reboots or anything, they both are set on pictures again. The lockscreen or wallpapers which are two different settings and both change back to pictures from the setting I had saved as slideshow. I've been looking and researching for a week or so with no results. I can't find any way to lock it down in gpedit.msc, tried everything for weeks. I've run scannow and Dism with no help so tell me you have an easy answer for this please. Win version 1703 Build 15063.483. Thanks Al.

So you see the problem occurs when you set Desktop background or Lock Screen background to slideshow and it automatically resets to a picture after some time or immediately.

PROBLEM REASON:

It seems a bug in Windows operating system. A few readers have reported that it happens when you set images slideshow as background using Settings app and close the app window. As soon as you close Settings window, it forgets the user settings and when you re-open Settings window, the background is set to picture again.

So when you exit from Settings page, it reverts to Picture option for background.

PROBLEM SOLUTION:

We'll use a workaround to fix this issue. We'll take help of a built-in restriction to prevent changing lock screen and desktop backgrounds. Once we apply this restriction, Windows will stop resetting image slideshow to picture for desktop and lock screen background.

STEP 1:

First of all set the slideshow as background of Desktop or Lock Screen using Settings -> Personalization page. but DON'T close the Settings window. Keep it opened.

STEP 2:

Now we'll set the restriction using Group Policy Editor program. If you are using Windows 10 Home edition, you'll not be able to use Group Policy Editor because this edition doesn't come with this program. But you can enable Group Policy Editor in this edition using this tutorial. If you still can't use Group Policy Editor, you can apply the restrictions using Registry Editor program as mentioned in the BONUS TIP given at the end of this tutorial.

1. Press "WIN+R" key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type gpedit.msc and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.

2. Now go to:

User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Control Panel -> Personalization

3. In right-side pane, look for "Prevent changing desktop background" option.

4. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled.

5. Now go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Control Panel -> Personalization

6. In right-side pane, look for "Prevent changing lock screen and logon image" option.

7. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled.

That's it. Now try to open Settings -> Personalization -> Background or Lock Screen page and you'll see that options to change background are grayed out i.e. disabled. Also a message "Some settings are hidden or managed by your organization" will be shown at the top of the page as shown in following screenshot:

Now Windows will never reset slideshow to picture for Desktop or Lock Screen background.

In future, if you want to change background, first disable the restrictions by changing both options to Not Configured again in Group Policy Editor, then change background using Setting app.

BONUS TIP:

If you can't use or don't want to use Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

3. Create a new key under Policies key and set its name as ActiveDesktop

4. Now select ActiveDesktop key and in right-side pane create a new DWORD NoChangingWallPaper and set its value to 1

5. Again go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization

6. In right-side pane create a new DWORD NoChangingLockScreen and set its value to 1

In future, if you want to change background, first disable the restrictions by changing both DWORD values to 0 in Registry Editor, then change background using Setting app.

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<a href="http://sltechnozone.blogspot.com/2017/08/windows-10-desktop-and-lock-screen.html">Windows 10 Desktop and Lock Screen Background Slideshow Reset to Picture</a>

8th-Generation Intel Core Processors Unveiling Next Week

The processor market is hotting up as AMD and Intel fire shots across one another's bows.

Intel's Kaby Lake chips are still pretty fresh, but AMD's big Ryzen push means that the chip giant is getting ready to talk about its 8th-generation silicon.

8th-generation Intel Core chips, codenamed Coffee Lake, will still be built using a 14-nanometer architecture, but beyond that little is officially known. Unofficially, it seems that what Intel is planning to do is cram more cores into existing chips.

It's widely expected that the desktop versions of the i7 and i5 processors will be bumped to 6-core, and the Core i3 bumped to quad-core, along with some Pentium and mobile chips.

Boosting the number of cores allows Intel to squeeze more power and performance out of its existing silicon architecture before we shift to the 10-nanometer Cannonlake chips.

Intel will livestream the announcement, along with demonstrations, via its Facebook page on August 21, and Intel states that devices powered by these chips will be available to purchase during "the holiday season and even before."

Sources: zdnet

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Game of Thrones Pirates Arrested For Leaking Episode Early

Four people have been arrested in connection with the leak of the fourth episode of Game of Thrones' latest season. The leak, which took place early August in advance of its commercial release, carried the watermark 'Star India'. All four men will be detained for a week while an investigation gets underway.

Over the past several years, Game of Thrones has become synonymous with fantastic drama and story telling on the one hand, and Internet piracy on the other. It’s the most pirated TV show in history, hands down.

With the new season well underway, another GoT drama began to unfold early August when the then-unaired episode “The Spoils of War” began to circulate on various file-sharing and streaming sites. The leak only trumped the official release by a few days, but that didn’t stop people downloading in droves.

As previously reported, the leaked episode stated that it was “For Internal Viewing Only” at the top of the screen and on the bottom right sported a “Star India Pvt Ltd” watermark. The company commented shortly after.

“We take this breach very seriously and have immediately initiated forensic investigations at our and the technology partner’s end to swiftly determine the cause. This is a grave issue and we are taking appropriate legal remedial action,” a spokesperson said.

Now, just ten days later, that investigation has already netted its first victims. Four people have reportedly been arrested in India for leaking the episode before it aired.

“We investigated the case and have arrested four individuals for unauthorized publication of the fourth episode from season seven,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Akbar Pathan told AFP.

The report indicates that a complaint was filed by a Mumbai-based company that was responsible for storing and processing the TV episodes for an app. It has been named locally as Prime Focus Technologies, which markets itself as a Netflix “Preferred Vendor”.

It’s claimed that at least some of the men had access to login credentials for Game of Thrones episodes which were then abused for the purposes of leaking.

Local media identified the men as Bhaskar Joshi, Alok Sharma, and Abhishek Ghadiyal, who were employed by Prime Focus, and Mohamad Suhail, a former employee, who was responsible for leaking the episode onto the Internet.

All of the men were based in Bangalore and were interrogated “throughout the night” at their workplace on August 11. Star India welcomed the arrests and thanked the authorities for their swift action.

“We are deeply grateful to the police for their swift and prompt action. We believe that valuable intellectual property is a critical part of the development of the creative industry and strict enforcement of the law is essential to protect it,” the company said in a statement.

“We at Star India and Novi Digital Entertainment Private Limited stand committed and ready to help the law enforcement agencies with any technical assistance and help they may require in taking the investigation to its logical conclusion.”

The men will be held in custody until August 21 while investigations continue.

Sources: torrentfreak

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Google shuts down neo-Nazi site's domain and YouTube channel

Google has pulled domain registration support for the neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer shortly after it moved from GoDaddy, which had earlier cut it off for violating its terms of service.

The companies revoked the site's internet domain registration in the wake of violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

On Sunday GoDaddy announced on Twitter that the site had 24 hours to find another domain provider as it had violated the terms of service for its support in organizing the white supremacy rally over the weekend.

The site then posted an offensive story about Heather Heyer, the woman killed in the car attack on demonstrators protesting against the rally.

"Given this latest article comes on the immediate heels of a violent act, we believe this type of article could incite additional violence, which violates our terms of service," a company spokesperson said in a statement to ZDNet sister site CNET.

After GoDaddy canceled the registration, the site moved to Google Domains where it remained for several hours before Google confirmed it would also revoke its registration. Google told Bloomberg it had also pulled the site's YouTube channel.

"We are canceling Daily Stormer's registration with Google Domains for violating our terms of service," a Google spokesman said.

Google's rules for web support and advertising prohibit content that incites violence.

The site currently isn't loading. Neither Google nor GoDaddy hosted The Daily Stormer's content, but as domain providers, they directed internet users and search engines to its URL.

The site's owner, Andrew Anglin, pointed readers to its channel on voice chat app, Discord, which said it had shut down related accounts.

Facebook also confirmed on Monday that it had removed the event page used to promote and organize the Unite the Right rally.

"Facebook does not allow hate speech or praise of terrorist acts or hate crimes, and we are actively removing any posts that glorify the horrendous act committed in Charlottesville," the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sanberg posted a response to the rally, saying she was "heartbroken" by the events of this weekend.

Sources: zdnet

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How To Add Websites To Top Sites In Microsoft Edge

By default, Microsoft Edge displays a list of top sites at the top of new tab page unless you have customized Edge’s new tab page to show a blank page or display only suggested contents.

Top sites are nothing but your frequently visited websites. By clicking on a website’s tile in the top sites section, you can open the website. The top site’s section allows you to open your favorite websites quickly without having to type URLs in the address bar.

You can remove a website from the top sites section by right-clicking on it and then clicking Remove option, or by clicking the close sign on the tile.

Microsoft Edge automatically adds websites to top sites section of new tab page based on your browsing history. If it finds that you are visiting a website more often than a website that is already in the top sites section, it automatically replaces the least visited site in the top sites section with the new one.

Edge also allows you pin a website to the top sites section of the new tab. When you pin a website to the top sites section, Edge will not automatically remove it, even if you don’t visit that website very often in future.

Now, you might be wondering how to add websites to top sites section in Edge. Well, there is a provision to add websites to top sites in Edge. Here is how to do that.

Add websites to top sites in Edge in Windows 10

Step 1: Start the Edge browser. Open a new tab page. If the Edge browser fails to start, reset the Edge browser or repair Edge.

Step 2: In order to add a website or URL to the top sites section, there must be a vacant or blank tile. To remove an existing website, hover the mouse cursor on one of the top sites to see the “x” sign. Click the “x” sign to remove it.

Step 3: Now, click on the blank tile to see a URL box. Enter your favorite website or web page's URL in the field, and then click Add button to add a website to top sites section of Edge. Using this method, you can add websites to top sites section of Edge.

Now that you have added your favorite website to top sites section of Edge, we recommend you pin it to avoid Edge from automatically replacing it with another website that you visit more often.

To pin the website, right-click on the tile and then click Pin option. To remove, right-click and then click Remove option.

Sources: intowindows

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Microsoft's .NET Core 2.0: What's new and why it matters

Microsoft's .NET Core 2.0 is done and available for download as of August 14.

Simultaneously, Microsoft is delivering ASP.NET Core 2.0, Entity Framework Core 2.0 and the complete .NET Standard 2.0 specification.

Microsoft's primary goal with .NET Core and .NET Standard was to make more of its application programming interfaces (APIs) consistent across the different versions of .NET.

Microsoft officials said the team has gone from 13,000 APIs in .NET Standard 1.6 to 32,000 in .NET Standard 2.0. Most of the newly added APIs are .NET Framework APIs, which means developers should have an easier time porting their existing .NET Framework code to .NET Standard.

Microsoft forked the .NET Framework to make the .NET Core subset of it more portable across platforms in in 2014. .NET Core became the open-source cross-platform implementation of the .NET development platform that runs on Windows, Linux and macOS.

.NET Core includes the .NET runtime, a set of framework libraries, a set of software development kit tools and language compilers. .NET Standard is an API spec that describes the .NET interfaces that developers can use across all .NET platforms.

Currently, .NET Standard 2.0 is supported on .NET Framework 4.6.1, .NET Core 2.0, Mono 5.4, Xamarin iOS 10.14, Xamarin.Mac 3.8 and Xamarin.Android 7.5. Support for Windows 10 Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is expected later this year.

.NET Core 2.0 provides performance improvements in the runtime and framework. It adds support for .NET to six new platforms, includign Debian Stretch, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 and macOS High Sierra. The RyuJIT just-in time compiler (x86 version) is included in .NET Core 2.0, and Linux ARM32 is now supported in preview.

Making sure .NET runs everywhere is Microsoft's centerpiece of its development strategy these days. Making sure developers can get their apps to run on different flavors of Windows 10 is still important to the company, too, but I'd argue less so, as time goes by.

Sources: zdnet

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<a href="http://sltechnozone.blogspot.com/2017/08/microsofts-net-core-20-whats-new-and.html">Microsoft's .NET Core 2.0: What's new and why it matters</a>

Everything you need to Know about VPN

Do you want a fast speed internet connection? Do you wish to enjoy private network and have your data secured? Then you need a VPN buddy! But before you go any further, know what VPN is.

VPN Explained!

VPN is a personal version of a secure and classified network that lets you create a private traffic over the network. By connecting devices with a VPN, you can enjoy continuous communication irrespective of any digital and physical barriers in between. It is like a private lounge where you go around without any interference from outside. It provides the freedom of accessing your corporate or home network even if you are residing in another corner of the world. The best part is the security trait that makes all the data moving between your tablet, phone or computer securely encrypted.

Here’s how VPN works

Public networks are cesspools as they are all about Fire sheep, Honeypot attacks, and Wi-Fi-spoofing. If you are working with sensitive data of your organization then accessing it through coffee shop and Wi-Fi hotspot is not a good idea. It can put your job and company’s business at stake.

The VPN chooses the middle path and makes the safety of users the priority. It involves using a private network that uses the public network like the internet to get connected with users and remote sites together. Just like a Firewall that protects the data of your computer, the VPN gives you protection online. The interesting part is that VPN is actually a WAN that retains the same appearance, security, and functionality just like a private network does.

Structure of VPN

Usually, when the users connect to the internet, it lets them connect with Internet Service Provider and then it connects them with the website they wish to open. This internet traffic is visible to the servers of ISP, and they can view it through user’s ISP.

With VPN the scenario is a bit different. While using VPN, the user connects to a server which is run by VPN provider. This VPN server has an encrypted connection that is also known as VPN tunnel. It implies the data is moving between the VPN server and user’s computer is encrypted, and only the VPN server and the user can view it. This setup results in following consequences:

A bit slow speed but for better Encryption

The decryption and encryption of data need a processing power. The stronger is the encryption, the slower with being the speed of the internet. However, the latest computer technology makes this issue negligible. Another factor is the distance that the data travels to VPN server. This is influenced by the physics law that states the longer is the distance traveled by the data, the more time it takes.

Data Access to VPN Provider

As the VPN provider is sharing the data view, so it knows about your data. It makes you shift trust from ISP that usually has no interest in data or commits its protection to the VPN provider that promises your privacy protection.

ISP is Unaware

The ISP cannot see your data, so the data is technically encrypted. The ISP does not know about your internet activity because VPN server routes it. The ISP only knows that you have a connection to VPN server.

Internet Access is through IP Address Apparently

If a VPN server is in a different country, then you can easily access the VPN service as the servers are situated in various countries. If someone monitors you, then he may only be able to track you till VPN server. If the VPN provider hides your data which they claim normally, then your IP address remains hidden. It makes your real IP address invisible to the websites that you access.

Benefits

VPN helps to connect you to the internet through a server which is run by a company that provides VPN services. It makes the data security encryption possible that results in:

• Offering P2P download in a safe environment.
• Gives you protection against hackers by using public Wi-Fi hotspot.
• Provides you geo-spoofing that let you access the services that usually are unfairly denied on the basis of your geo location.
• Happily evading censorship in your ISP, school, government, and work.
• Gives privacy by hiding users’ activities from government and ISP.

Conclusion

VPN is one versatile tool that costs few bucks, decreases the chance of hackers, enhances the internet experience of users and gives you an ultimate freedom of watching anything online. It makes this technology worth-using as it protects the data from hackers watching eyes.

Sources: techpatio

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3 Ways To Password Protect Text Files In Windows 10

Do you have a text file with sensitive information on your Windows 10 PC? Want to password protect text files in Windows 10? In this guide, we will see the three easy ways out there to password protect text files in Windows 10 and earlier versions.

Creating a password protected zip file containing text files is probably the easiest way out there to password protect text files in Windows. In addition to that method, you can use LockNote software password protect text files.

Following are the three easy ways to password protect text files in Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows operating system.

Use LockNote to password protect text file

LockNote is a free program designed to help you to password protect your text file with ease. When you use LockNote program to password protect a text file, it creates a password protected executable file containing your text and not the text file.

Basically, LockNote is a text editor with password protection capabilities. You can password protect notes created using LockNote.

If you have used another text editor to create a text file and wanted to protect it, you need to copy and paste the text (not the text file) that you want to password protect into the LockNote interface and then save the file. LockNote saves the file as an executable rather than saving it as a normal text file. While saving the file, LockNote allows you to add a password to the note.

To open the note, you just need to open the executable by double-clicking on it. The executable will be opened with LockNote program.

Here is how to use LockNote to password protect a text file in Windows:

Step 1: Download LockNote program from this page. Extract the zip file to get LockNote folder. Open up the folder to find the LockNote executable.

Step 2: Run the LockNote program by double-clicking on its executable. By default, the LockNote will display some text. You can erase all the text and copy and paste the text that you want to protect.

Step 3: Click the File menu, click Save as option, choose a location to save the note, enter a name for the note/executable, and then click Save button to see a prompt asking to enter the password. Enter a password and re-enter the password. Click OK button to create a password protected executable containing your text file.

To open the password protected note/executable, double-click on the executable that you previously created. Enter the password to see the note.

Use 7-Zip (free) to password protect text files in Windows 10

In this method, we create a password protected zip file containing your text file. To access the text file inside the protected zip file, you will have to enter the password. Here is how to do just that. In fact, you can use this method to protect all file types.

Step 1: Download and install 7-Zip, if not already installed on your PC.

Step 2: Right-click on the text file which you want to protect with password, click 7-Zip, and then click Add to archive option. This action will open 7-Zip’s Add to Archive dialog.

Step 3: Here, in the Archive section, enter a name for your new password protected zip file and select a location to save the file.

Select the archive format as zipping. In the Encryption section, either select the default ZipCrypto or popular AES-256 encryption.

Finally, enter the password which you would like to use to password protect text file, re-enter the password, and then click OK button to create a zip file containing your text file. That’s it!

Now, whenever you try to open the zip file using Windows 10’s built-in zip extraction tool or any other tool, you will need to enter the password to get the text file.

Use WinRAR to password protect text files in Windows 10

Step 1: Download WinRAR setup file, and install it on your PC.

Step 2: Right-click on the text file which you want to password protect and then click Add to archive option. This action will open Archive name and parameters dialog.

Step 3: In the General tab, enter a name for the zip file, select archive format as ZIP, and then click Set password button.

Step 4: Enter the password, and re-enter the password. Finally, click OK button to create a password protected zip file containing your text file.

In addition to 7-Zip and WinRAR, you can also use other archiving software like WinZip, Bandizip, and PeaZip to password protect text files in Windows 10 and earlier versions.

Sources: intowindows

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Facebook Covertly Launches A Photo-Sharing App In China

The Chinese market is no doubt a pot of gold for big technology giants with over 700 million internet users, but the Chinese government heavily controls the Internet within its borders through its Golden Shield project – the Great Firewall of China.

The Great Firewall has blocked some 171 out of the world's leading websites, including Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Dropbox, and The Pirate Bay in the country.

But tech giants like Facebook and Google always try alternative ways to infiltrate the market.

Now it seems like Facebook is trying to secretly enter the largest populous market by releasing an all new social networking app in China that does not carry its brand.

Dubbed Colorful Balloons, the photo-sharing app appears to mimic the look and feel of Facebook's Moments, an app that allows its users to share photos with their friends and family members.

According to The New York Times, Facebook approved the release of Colorful Balloons back in May and released it through a Chinese company called Youge Internet Technology, without any affiliation with the social networking company.

China banned Facebook in July 2009, its photo-sharing app Instagram in 2014 and even partially blocked the largest instant messaging platform WhatsApp in July. Since then Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg trying to break into the world's biggest online market.

Zuckerberg has made a number of visits to China in recent years to re-enter in the market, meeting with Chinese government officials and reportedly working on a censorship tool for the country to help it suppress posts from appearing in a particular geographic area.

Colorful Balloons now gives the social networking company a way to get an idea on how Chinese users digitally share information with their families and friends or interact with their favourite social media platforms.

Unlike the Moments app which connects users through Facebook, the Colorful Balloons app links users through China's biggest social network, WeChat.

Like Moments, Colorful Balloons has been designed to collate photographs from your smartphone's photo albums and then share them, but in China, it does so with the use of a QR code used by WeChat.

Since the app is currently not widely distributed in the country, it is not clear if the Chinese government is aware of this Facebook's efforts. The Cyberspace Administration of China did not respond to a request for comment from the NYT.

In response to this news, Facebook said it's "spending time understanding and learning more about the country in different ways. Our focus right now is on helping Chinese businesses and developers expand to new markets outside China by using our ad platform."

The Chinese government is likely already reviewing the app in question, which could end up disappearing if the government find anything suspicious.

Sources: thehackernews

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