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Issue #490: December 11-17, 2016

Q: I have Windows 10 and I keep getting an error code 43. Is there some fix for this that is safe or is this just a hoax? The error code comes up mostly when I am in my email. It says I can download a fix for my computer

– Sharon R.
City Withheld, Minnesota

A: Well, Sharon, this is a bit of a mixed bag, and I’m afraid the advice I can give you is only going to be as good as the information you supplied. It would have helped greatly if you would have sent me a screen shot of the error message so I could see the exact error text, and the context in which it occurred. Nevertheless, I’ll take a shot at it.

“Error code 43” usually is associated with the device manager, and means that a Windows stopped a particular device (most commonly a USB device) because the device reported a problem. Taken in context, this would provide exactly which device caused the error, and why. It is possible that other devices may cause this error. Refer to tinyurl.com/IGTM-0490 for some simple instructions on how to find, and re-load the driver for other devices that may have this error.

The fact that you are getting this error while reading e-mail, and in other situations rings a bell of suspicion with me. I would postulate that “something” (read: malware) has gotten a foothold on your system, and is attempting to lure you into downloading and installing something else – probably something far worse – that may require more privileges to install. This would be why it’s asking you to do the download, rather than simply doing it behind the scenes, since a user-initiated action won’t be scrutinized as closely by your anti-malware software.

My advice is under no circumstances should you download whatever this thing is recommending. Rather, do some counter-attacking with multiple anti-malware products, such as SpyBot Search and Destroy, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Ad-Aware, and Super AntiSpyware. These products are all free to install and use.

 • • •

 Q: I am using Windows 10 on a brand new laptop and keep getting a message that my Yahoo settings are out of date. When I try to fix it by saving the password I keep getting the out of date notices for Yahoo Mail.

– John W.
Freeport, Florida

A: Nice try, but as far as I know, Yahoo! doesn’t auto-expire passwords, no matter which version of Windows you are running. When it says that your “settings” are out of date, it means the configuration of your Yahoo! account, itself. The most likely culprit that I know of is that back in 2013 Yahoo! made the decision to support only SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connections to its e-mail service. Windows 7 apparently didn’t have the ability to detect and report the mis-configuration if you don’t have SSL turned on, but Windows 10 does. It just does a crummy job of telling you exactly what the problem is (Thanks, Bill!).

To turn on SSL (and hopefully rid yourself of the message) click on the little gear icon in your Yahoo! Mail inbox. Select “Settings” from the context menu, then click “Security” in the navigation pane of the dialog that appears. Right at the top, you’ll find a check box for enabling SSL.


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