Steps to Exclude Files and Folders from Windows Defender

Windows Defender is an in-built antivirus component that comes with Windows 10. Along with its security features, Windows Defender also allows you to add exclusions for files and folders to prevent scanning. Once you start using this feature, it will significantly improve the performance of your PC and make space for other tasks.

Steps to exclude files and folders from Windows Defender:

• Click on the Windows key once.
• Type “Security” and open the Windows Security.
• Then, click on the “Virus and threat protection” and click on “Manage Settings.”
• In Settings, select the “Exclusions” option and add the files and folders you want to exclude.
• After that, click on “Add or remove exclusions.”
• Now, tap on “Add an exclusion” and choose what you want to exclude from Windows Defender. The File option allows you to exclude a specific file. The Folder option lets you exclude a complete folder from scanning. In the File Type option, you can mention the file extensions you want to exclude from scanning. Last but not least, the “Process” option allows you to exclude background tasks and processes from scanning.

How to remove exclusions?

If you want to remove any exclusions on files and folders, then click on the file you want to remove and click on the “Remove” option, and it will remove your file from exclusions.

Conclusion

Windows Defender is one of the most efficient components of Windows 10 to protect your PC from online threats. Windows Defender is completely free to use. If you do not want to spend a hefty amount on antivirus software, then Windows Defender is a perfect choice to protect your PC. It effectively tackles malware and spyware. Windows Defender also acts like a decluttering app for your Windows. As the same company develops Windows Defender, it acquires significantly less amount of space in your PC. Third-party antivirus software comes with heavy set up configurations, but Windows Defender is very simple to set up and comes with a user-friendly interface. Another benefit of Windows Defender is that it does not come with irritating pop-ups you generally face with third-party software. Keeping in mind the benefits as mentioned above you get with Defender; you can also exclude files and folders from scanning. You can follow the steps mentioned above to exclude files and folders. But keep in mind that files you exclude from scanning may contain threats and they can make your device vulnerable.

Source:-   Exclude Files and Folders from Windows Defender

 

Stephen King Stories Need to Be Adapted

Stephen King is one of the prolific and popular authors in history. He is known for his fantastic writing in suspense, crime, horror, supernatural fiction, fantasy, and science fiction novels. Over 350 million copies of his books are sold. King has 61 published novels, among which seven are under the pen name Richard Bachman. Many of his novels have been adapted for television series, films, comic books, and miniseries.

King has received many awards including World Fantasy Awards, British Fantasy Society, and Bram Stoker Awards. He is also awarded the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the National Book Foundation. King received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2004, The Grand Master Award in 2007 from the Mystery Writers of America, and many more. He is said to be the King of Horror, and his writings influenced pop culture.

The upcoming miniseries, The Stand is also adapted from King’s novel and is set to debut in December. In this article, we will try to list down some best novels by Stephen King that will be a fantastic choice to take to the big screen.

Bazaar Of Bad Dreams

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is a collection of short fiction stories. The book is King’s tenth published book and sixth among the collection of short stories. Bazaar of Bad Dreams was published on 3 November 2015 and the book won the Shirley Jackson Award for best collection in 2015. Its paper book editing was released on 18 October 2016, which includes a bonus short story titled, ‘Cookie Jar’.

The 2015 King’s frightening short story anthology, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams raised a complicated ethical question among its readers, including, is the murder of the child justifies? When Leonard Bradly visits the client and convicted the child murderer George Hallas, he is expecting a confession.

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is the English version of the novel Bad Little Kid, which King wrote and initially published in French and German as an electronic version.

Home Delivery

Home Delivery is a short story based on zombies written by American writer Stephen King. The story was published in Book of the Dead in 1989 and later included in the collection of short stories titled, Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993.

The plot revolves around an indecisive and time young woman, Maddie Pace, who lives on a small island named Gennesault. Maddie recently lost her husband in an accident, and she is also pregnant. The story then grows from there, which leads to a zombie outbreak. It is a story of how the zombie apocalypse affects the small community off the coast of Maine.

The novel is adapted into an animated short story produced by Guillermo del Toro and screened at RiverRun International Film Festival. The story got a good reception from George Beahm, and he said that King wrote the characters with sympathy and considerable skill.

I Am The Doorway

I Am the Doorway is a short science fiction by American author Stephen King published in March 1971. The book was later issued in Cavalier magazine and collected in the collection of King’s short stories Night Shift in 1978.

The story relates to a disabled former astronaut and some terrible changes he underwent due to the exposure to extraterrestrial mutagens, during a space mission to Venus. The narrator, Arthur, starts the story with a bandage on his hands and complaining about the itching. It further changes into numerous tiny eyeballs which is a doorway for alien spies and allows them to look into our world.

Robin Kasparik obtained the rights to adapt King’s short story into a short film in 2009. Later in 2015, Matthew J. Rowney produced the movie Dollar Baby, which was also an adaptation of this novel.

Insomnia

Insomnia is a fantasy horror novel published in 1994. The story is set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine like Dreamcatcher and It. The novel also has connections with other King’s novels, notably The Dark Tower.

The plot follows Retiree Ralph Robert’s encounters with the good-natured acquaintance Ed Deepneau. When Ralph meets Ed’s wife, Helen who has been beaten by her husband and hence signed a petition.

Insomnia is King’s uncanny ability to connect with universal implications. It drew conflicts between forces of the multiverse, and Robert’s knowledge about death, life, and reality. And in the hand of incredible director Guillermo del Toro, the novel is in the right hands for spectacle visual experience.

The Plant

The novel The Plant is conceived as a Christmas card for friends. Stephen King published the first part of the novel as the unfinished story and then published the second and third installments in 1982 and 1985.

The novella was also published as an ebook on King’s website in 2000 and charged a dollar for reading a chapter. The idea, although failed miserably. The story of The Plant is about a publishing house who gets a strange manuscript with some disturbing photographs. And after informing the incident to the police, the editor received a weird plant from the author. The Plant is a fantastic story to be adapted as TV miniseries and the movies.

The above are some of Stephen King’s novels that can be adapted for digital platforms or big screens.

Source:-   Stephen King Stories Need to Be Adapted

 

Top 5 Mobile and Web Applications for Song Identification

You must have come across various situations where you heard a song and fell in love with it instantly. You tried to find it everywhere, but couldn’t get your hands on it. Don’t worry; we got you covered. Stay tuned for some of the best mobile and web applications you can use for song identification. Next time, you hear a song and want to know which song is that, just open the song identification app, and it will tell you the song details in seconds.

Google Assistant

This must be a surprise for many people, as Google Assistant is not generally known for song identification features. For Android users, Google Assistant is one of the best ways to identify songs. All you need to do is just pull out your phone, and say “Hey Google, what is this song”/ Identify this song” and Google will start hearing the music, and within a few seconds, it will give you the outcomes. Along with song details, you can also access the playable links of that song from different streaming services. The only downfall of Google Assistant here is that iOS users cannot access it.

If you don’t want to use Google Assistant for song identification, there is another simple and straightforward way by which you can identify a song which is also known as “Widgets.” Open “Widgets” by pressing on your home screen and click on the “Sound Search.” Drag and drop the widget on your home screen, and you can use it to identify a song in the future. All you need to do is just tap on the widget, and it will identify the song within seconds.

For Pixel users, Google will automatically identify a song. New Pixel devices come with an in-built “Now Playing” feature that tracks music when you are offline. It will give you a notification with the current playing song details, and you can save it or discard it as per your choice.

Siri

With recently improved capabilities and Shortcuts support, Siri is growing as one of the most promising automation tools. Siri comes with multiple features, and song identification is one of those features that allows you to identify songs and music in seconds.

Whenever you want to identify a song, launch “Siri” and say “What song is playing right now” and Siri will start listening to the song and display results in seconds. You can click on the results to play the music in Apple music. In case you have not subscribed to Apple Music, you will get the option to purchase the song.

Apple launched a new Music Recognition feature fully integrated with Shazam app that allows you to identify ambient music and music playing on your phone. With the new Music Recognition feature, you don’t need an extra device to identify songs playing on your iPhone. You can enable this Music Recognition feature by going into the “Settings” and enable its toggle in the Control Centre.

Cortana

Cortana allows you to identify music on your PC. Cortana is a Microsoft powered voice assistant that identifies playing songs with just a single command. All you need to say is “What song is playing” and it will start listening to the song and display results in seconds. Cortana is now available as a separate app on Windows 10. Android and iOS users can also access Cortana.

Alexa

Alexa needs no introduction as it is another popular voice assistant with decent song recognition features. Currently, Alexa can recognize songs only when you play music from Amazon Music. Alexa is a great voice assistant for you if you are neck-deep into Amazon’s ecosystem. Before using this feature, make sure you enable the Song ID feature. All you need to say is “Alexa, turn on song ID”, and you can use Alexa for song identification purposes.

Shazam

Shazam is one of the most popular apps to identify music quickly. Shazam is available for both Android and iOS users. Shazam is one of the few apps that identify songs with no failed attempts. Along with song recognition, you also get lyrics so you can sing along. If you don’t want to use any AI for song recognition, then Shazam is the best app you can get your hands on. One of the most outstanding features of Shazam is that it even remembers the recognized songs, and you can also access it offline.

It records the audio and shows you the song information when you come back online. Just like the Pixel “Now Playing” feature, it also gives notification with the song details playing around you.

Another outstanding feature of Shazam is that it can recognize the song playing on your smartphone. The feature is also known as “Pop Up Shazam”, and it works on multiple apps. You can also use Shazam Lite if you have a low- powered device. Shazam Lite is equally capable because of the same music recognition algorithm.

Conclusion

With all the five options mentioned above, you can pick one which suits you to recognize music on the go. Some apps are even capable enough to identify your humming. The AI-powered voice assistants eliminate the needs of any third-party application. But Shazam is a very potential app with advanced algorithms that can identify songs in minutes with no fail. Some honorable mentions are SoundHound, Midomi, and AHA, which are equally capable of identifying songs and music playing around you.

Source:-  Top 5 Mobile and Web Applications for Song Identification

 

Some Best Philips Hue Apps for Android

Philips Hue is one of the most popular and oldest smart lights. Philips allows third-party developers to play with its products. However, here are some best Philips Hue apps that will give you a variety of features to control the smart light. So, let’s get started.

Hue Disco

If you are looking for a Philips Hue app for parties, then Hue Disco is going to be the ultimate choice for you. The app taps into Hue’s ability to change color and brightness, depending on the sound. You just need to play loud music and run the app altogether, and the lights will automatically change color and brightness. The app also offers you a variety of customization options and features. It is a great Philips Hue app and available for $3.99, but you will need a Philips Hue controller to make this app work.

HueDynamic

HueDynamic is quite a very powerful Philips Hue app that features a variety of stuff, including multi-bridge support, camera functionality, an improved routine from the official app, and many more things. To use the camera functionality, just open the camera, and the app will automatically adjust the lights based on what the camera sees. The app has some bug issues; otherwise, it works great and is quite easy to use. It is available for free and offers a premium version too that will cost you $5.49.

Hue Light

Hue Light is a newly launched Philips Hue light app with a straightforward user interface and simple controls. You can easily connect your Philips Hue light with the app and adjust the lights as you want. Hue Light lets you change the color of lights, adjust the brightness, and do many more things. The app works pretty well and is available for free with ads. However, you can remove the ads from the app by purchasing its premium version for $1.99.

Hue Pro

Hue Pro is another very decent Philips Hue app that provides you with a variety of features, including lighting presets, dimming and brightness toggles, music integration, and many more things. The app lets you control the lights even if you are away from your home. It is an amazing Philips Hue app, but not available for free to use. You will have to pay $1.99 to use this app.

Lumio

Lumio is another recently launched Philips Hue app that offers you a straightforward user interface and lots of basic features, including turning lights on or off, changing the lights’ brightness and color, and much more stuff. The app is a little bit buggy. Otherwise, it works great and is available for free with in-app purchases.

MediaVibe

MediaVibe is itself not an app but a developer on Google Play that offers a bunch of fantastic Philips Hue apps with various themes, including Halloween, Christmas, fireworks, etc. All the apps provided by MediaVibe work almost similarly and offer almost the same features. To use the apps offered by MediaVibe, you will have to purchase them, but none of the apps will cost you more than $2.99.

OnSwitch

OnSwitch is quite a unique Philips Hue app that comes with the support for LIFX lights too. The app boasts a variety of features, including the ability to manage single as well as groups of bulbs, 30 different light scenes, and many more. Most of the app’s features work for both sets of smart lights (Philips Hue and LIFX lights). You can use the OnSwitch app for free; otherwise, the pro version of OnSwitch will cost you $9.99.

These are some best Philips Hue light apps that I would recommend you to use. So give them a try. Thank you for reading the article.

Source:-  Some Best Philips Hue Apps for Android

 

Films To Watch If You Love My Spy

Sometimes, comedy is all we want to watch to feel pleasure in the absurdity of life. Humour is one of the most popular genres around the world. The humorous movie helps you to forget the unpleasantness of life and the outside world.

My Spy is one such film, and it combines comedy with the spy genre or tough guy out of the water genre. Peter Segal directed the movie, and Erich and Jon Hoeber write it. The plot follows a CIA agent who is at the mercy of a nine-year-old girl of a family that his tech support is surveilling being undercover. My Spy theatrically was released on 9 January 2020 in Australia by STX Entertainment. And the distribution rights of the film were bought by Amazon Studios due to the global pandemic COVID-19. The film was released on Prime Video on 26 June 2020 and received a mixed response from critics.

Kristen Schaal, Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Ken Jeong, and Parisa Fitz-Henley were the cast of the movie My Spy. Although since it was a family movie, it did not get a positive response from the audience and critics. It received an approval rating of 47% based on 118 reviews on rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.3/10.

Fans of My Spy can not get over the film, and hence we have prepared a list of few movies in similar genre-bending or films starring Dave Bautista.

Johnny English

Johnny English also is known as “Little Brother of James Bond” is a spy action comedy movie written by William Davies, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade, directed by Peter Howitt. Rowan Atkinson is in the title role along with other actors including Ben Miller, Natalie Imbruglia, and John Malkovich are in the supporting roles.

Rowan Atkinson is known for his fantastic character for years as Mr. Bean, and he took on the role of Johnny English as a British secret agent. In the movie, he is a well-intentioned, kind-hearted, and clumsy man who accidentally becomes an undercover agent at M17 because he, unfortunately, caused the death of all other agents.

Atkinson tried to be a James Bond, and Johnny is like Inspector Clouseau. He made his way through it, and he has a bit of sheer luck which allows him to succeed on the mission. The movie was a commercial success and got an approval rating of 33% based on 121 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Agent Cody Banks

Agent Cody Banks is a spy comedy movie directed by Harald Zwart. The plot follows a 15-year-old title character played by the actor Frankie Muniz. Muniz is known for his TV show Malcolm in the Middle, Agent Cody Banks, Big Fat Liar, and Racing Stripes. He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and one Emmy Award nomination. Along with Muniz, Keith David, Angie Harmon, Ian McShane, Hilary Duff, Cynthia Stevenson, and many more actors for other supporting characters.

However, the movie is not much about the mission rather about the inability to speak with girls. Throughout the film, Cody is helped by CIA experts to do his homework, teach him how to debonair with the girls, and complete his chores.

Agent Cody Banks got mixed reviews and an approval rating of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. On 12 March 2004 the sequel of the film was released titled, Agent Cody Banks:2.

Spy Hard

Spy Hard is an American spy comedy movie starring Nicollette Sheridan, Leslie Nielsen. It was produced by Jeffrey Konvitz and Doug Draizin and directed by Rick Friedberg.

The plot of the story revolves around the Secret agent WD-40 Dick Steele played by Leslie Nielsen. Along with the lovely and mysterious Veronique Ukrinsky, Agent 3.14 played by Nicollette Sheridan. Secret agent WD-40 must rescue Barbara Dahl, who is kidnapped and he wants to stop the evil genius, Rancor played by Andy Griffith.

Leslie Nielsen is a Canadian comedian, actor, and producer. He is known for his notable performances in The Poseidon Adventure, Forbidden Planet, Airplane, TV show Police Squad, etc. and his character’s goal in the movie was to save the world from Rancor. However, the movie did not get a positive response from the audience and critics. The film earned an approval rating of 8% based on 40 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Spies In Disguise

Spies in Disguise is an American computer-animated spy comedy movie produced by Blue Sky Studios. The voice to the film was given by some amazing actors including Tom Holland, Will Smith, Ben Mendelson, Reba McEntire, Karen Gillan, Masi Oka, DJ Khaled, and Rashida Jones.

The screenplay of the plot follows the secret agent who is transformed into a pigeon by a young scientist named Holland. The two then worked together to stop a cybernetic terrorist, and return to his human form.

Spies in Disguise premiered on 4 December 2019 at the El Capitan Theatre and collected a gross of $171 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics with praise for music, humor, animation, and vocal performances.

The computer animation movie is a family-friendly story about a teen and voiced by Holland. Along with the release of Spies in Disguise during Christmas, Rise of Skywalker and Little Women also released at the same time, and hence it had to suffer a bit at the box office. The fans can find its DVD and the movie is also available on streaming platforms now.

The above are new films that you might watch if you like My Spy and have a good time with your family and friends.

 

Source:-   Films To Watch If You Love My Spy

Fortnite: How to Use Wolverine’s Healing Power

 

Fortnite: How to Use Wolverine’s Healing 

Power

The marvel crossover has made Fortnite Season 4 an overnight success. Following this, Epic Games is now striving a bit hard to keep the game fresh. Thus, Epic Games have now added various new outfits for all Marvel characters and fortunately, this time these skins contain traits of their corresponding character too. Meanwhile, players these days are after the newly arrived skin of Wolverine because this unique skin comes with the instant healing ability. However, first players need to unlock this unique Wolverine’ skin, and for that, they need to beat Wolverine NPC boss.

Surprisingly, even after obtaining this potent skin, most of the gamers won’t be able to regain health skill because it has to be activated. Below we have provided a proper workaround to use the healing power of Wolverine in Fortnite Season 4.

Fortnite Season 4: How to Regain Health as Wolverine

We have already briefed above that the first step to initiate this process is to unlock the Wolverine skin. The regain ability of Wolverine NPC boss won’t allow gamers to stand against him. Thus, they should opt to normal Wolverine Skin that they can obtain quite quickly as there are various Wolverine challenges available in weekly challenges. When the gamers have successfully attained Wolverine’s skin, then they need to partake in any game mode. More importantly, gamers need to be aware because these days, numerous players are keen to get Wolverine unique skin to obtain its majestic healing power.

The simplest and the best way to avoid conflict with other players is to surpass the hurdles by striding upon tall structures available in Team Rumble mode. Once players have successfully defeated their competitors, then they need to find and collect Medkits, Chug Splash, food items and Bandages. Once players have succeeded in gathering all these items, then they will obtain the ability to heal using their normal Wolverine skill. However, this regained ability is undoubtedly relatively less effective than the one that NPC boss acquires. When gamers have obtained the healing ability in their Wolverine’s skin, then they need to visit Weeping Woods to challenge Wolverine NPC boss.

Precisely, it would be tough to eliminate him, but with new regain abilities, veteran gamers will surely succeed in slaying Wolverine’s NPC boss. Furthermore, gamers who failed in taking him down need to practice or craft a strategy to defeat the NPC boss. Moreover, gamers can use Claws Mythic Weapon of Wolverine because it will unlock Weapon X and it can help them to increase their Wolverine’s potency.

Conclusion

Epic Games have finally fulfilled the demands of Wolverine’s fans after they released new Wolverine skin that contains healing power. However, this skin is quite hard to obtain, but with the information and strategy available in this article, gamers can quickly obtain Wolverine’s unique skin.

Source:-  Fortnite: How to Use Wolverine’s Healing Power

Everything You Need to Know About Amazon Prime Day

 

Everything You Need to Know About 

Amazon Prime Day

Online shopping has made our lives a lot easier and Amazon is a giant firm in the field. The fast and reliable service provided by Amazon makes it popular among users, and Amazon also keeps coming with discounts and new offers to keep their customers engaged. Amazon Prime Day is one such sale event when Amazon offers great discount offers and exciting deals on thousands of products for Amazon Prime subscribers. If you are looking to save a few bucks on your desired things, then this sale is worth waiting for. Amazon Prime Day is going to happen this year soon, just like every other year from 2015, and you should be ready with your phone or PC to grab the best deals. In this article, we are going to elaborate on everything related to Amazon Prime Day, which will wipe away all your confusion about this one of the most popular sale events of the world. Let’s scroll down.

Amazon Prime Day is a gift for Amazon Prime subscribers that allows them to find the best deals on their desired products. This sale was started in 2015 to mark the success and celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amazon. This event was named Amazon Prime Day, and during the event, online retailers offered discounts on their products. Since 2015, this event takes place every year, and customers wait for it to grab the best deals on their favorite products.

Amazon Prime Day is usually held in mid-July every year, but it is delayed in 2020 due to the pandemic. Now, when everything has started to be getting back to normal, Amazon has confirmed that the Amazon Prime Day 2020 will be beginning on 13th October. Unlike the first Amazon Prime Day event that lasted for a day, this year, Amazon Prime Day will run for 48 hours like the previous year. It means that you will be able to find the best deals on your desired products on 13th and 14th October, so if you are looking to buy a new product and want to save some bucks or enjoy the exciting offers, then a week is worth waiting.  However, there are plenty of retailers who are already offering exciting deals on products like Chromebook, smartwatches, and tablets.

Amazon has its active business in more than 200 countries, but the Amazon Prime Day event is exclusively available in a few countries. Talking about the 2020 edition of this great sale event, like previous years, the US, the UK, the UAE, Spain, Singapore, the Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria, and Australia will be participating in this event. Brazil and Turkey will also be joining the list of participating countries this year.

Amazon Prime Day is an opportunity for consumers. If you are looking to grab the best deals on your favorite products during the Amazon Prime Day event, the very first thing you will need is Amazon Prime membership. Amazon Prime membership costs $12.99 a month, and if you are looking to buy some bucks, you can avail of the annual membership for $119. Amazon also offers a 30-day free trial service of the membership, and you will be eligible to participate in the mega sale event if you are in the trial period also. However, this membership is worth buying as it includes various other benefits like access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, discounts on deals even after Amazon Prime Day, and much more. Once you have made sure that you have an active Amazon Prime membership, you will be ready to enjoy the saving deals on your favorite products on Amazon Prime Day.

You can expect a lot of exciting deals with great discounts during the Amazon Prime Day event. You will be able to buy some products even at a 50% discount, especially products manufactured by Amazon including, Kindle eReaders, Echo smart speakers, Fire tablets, and Fire TV sticks, and smart televisions. Amazon Prime Day is a dream event for those who are planning to buy a new tablet, mobile, computer, TV, clothes, game consoles, and much more as there will be a large number of third-party sellers offering great discounts and exciting offers. We can also expect to have some profitable deals on movies and TV shows available on Amazon.

Amazon Prime Day is also going to make retailers compete among themselves, and you can expect a lot of discounts from them. However, as a part of the build-up to the event, they have started rolling out the exciting deals already, which you can find on Amazon.

Amazon Prime Day is an opportunity for both retailers and customers to be on the profit side. In this article, we have elaborated on the things you need to know about this mega sale event, and if you are looking to buy some new products, then Amazon Prime Day is worth waiting to save some bucks.

Source:-  Amazon Prime Day