Category: Software Tips

Sometimes you may experience issues with websites appearing as not secure or other issues with security eventhough they are secure and have  a valid SSL. 

I found that switching off BitDefender SSL solves this as this feature scans for the sites’ SSL and BitDefender will use it’s own if there is no SSL – or even if there is!

BitDefender is my favourite anti virus and allround protection software at the moment but the settings can be a maze,

To switch off BitDefender SSL:

• Bring up the BitDefender control panel
• Click on View Features
• Find Web Protection tile and click on the gears cog
• Deselect Scan SSL and close

Pick up BitDefender on Amazon here

I know WHS2011 is out of date but it is too much work at the moment to install a newer operating system on my home server.

I attempted to perform a windows update as I usually do, unfortunately, I received a red error warning

Windows update cannot currently check for updates because the service is not running. You may need to restart your computer

Not great but I hoped a simple restart would fix it.  As per usual, no joy, the old switch it of and on again didn’t work.

I did a bit of research online and found a thankfully simple solution:

• go to services and stop Windows update service
• locate C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\ folder and delete all its content
• start Windows update service
• check for updates

Microsoft technet forum post

The user who posted this stated that it worked for Windows Server 2008 R2, I thought tI would give it a go anyway.

Luckily, it worked first time.  I restarted the update service and the updates were downloading again.

I had an issue with the Astra wordpress theme and my Woocommerce store pages. I was stuck with a sidebar that I wasn’t using. Astra sent me the following code to remove the sidebar:

add_filter( 'astra_page_layout', 'no_sidebar_shop_page' );
function no_sidebar_shop_page( $sidebar ) {
if ( is_shop() ) {
$sidebar = 'no-sidebar';
}
return $sidebar;
}


This is to go into the functions.php file – create a child theme first.

This did that job but the content was too far over to the left and the sidebar space was still there.  I searched online and found this code:

body.woocommerce div#primary {
width: 100%;
}

body.woocommerce div#secondary {
display: none;
}

And to remove the page titles use code:

.page-title{display:none;}

After installing this product on one of my wordpress sites, I tried to setup the Amazon affiliate store but no matter how many times I tried, I could not get the AWS keys working.  I kept getting error:

The request signature we calculated does not match the signature you provided. Check your AWS Secret Access Key and signing method. Consult the service documentation for details

How to fix the problem

After waiting for several days, the developer finally got back to me and sent me the updated version which fixes this issue.  I almost gave up on this as I tried all of my AWS keys and it would not allow any product imports.

The developer has updated the file in the members download area.  Simply deactivate the plugin in wordpress, delete  plugin (data will remain), install new plugin and activate.

Check out this product here.  Full review coming soon.

After reinstalling Windows on to my PC I noticed that I could not get Sage Line 50 2009 accounting software to load up sample or company data files.

After searching I found that there is an issue related to the Windows 10 Anniversary updates.  The fix is simple luckily, head over to Ask Sage and download the fix here.

Instructions

To resolve this issue, you should download and install the Sage Accounts – Microsoft .Net Update.

1. 1. Click the download link: http://downloads.sage.co.uk/download/?did=ca1783eb-61e2-4bae-a317-01cb9637de06

Depending on your browser, the file downloads automatically or you’re prompted to open or save the file.

If prompted, click Save, then save the file to your Windows desktop. If you receive a message asking you to keep or discard the file, click Keep.

1. Double-click the downloaded file.
2. When you receive the message ‘Press any key to exit’, press any key.
3. Restart your computer then open Sage Accounts.

Buy Sage 50 Accounts here