Steven Datt

Category: Software

  • Disabling Windows Defender

    I had an issue recently where Windows updates installed Windows Defender automatically, on top of Microsoft Security Essentials on my TS3 server. This caused MSE to disable itself, and Windows Defender didn’t enable itself, causing my TS3 server to be exposed for longer than I would have liked.

    Obviously this was a huge problem, and I prefer to use MSE over Windows Defender, but getting rid of it wasn’t as easy as just re-enabling MSE.

    So, to disable Windows Defender:

    1. Open Control Panel
    2. Find & open Windows Defender
    3. Within Windows Defender, click Tools
    4. Then Options
    5. Click the last option, Administrator
    6. Un-check the box labelled “Use this program”

    Now,

    1. Open up services (Run -> services.msc)
    2. Find Windows Defender in there
    3. Double click on it to open Properties
    4. Set Startup Type to Disabled
    5. Enable MSE and restart the PC

    Even if, at this point, MSE hangs. When you log back in again it should  be re-enabled.

  • Media center software – XBMC

    A couple of months ago I purchased some new parts from Scan to build myself a Media PC. I went through a lot of different options, weighing up the pros and cons of each and eventually settled on a stripped down version of the Budget PC found in Custom PC Magazine. I have media across multiple drives, and a large factor for me was to have all of a set type of media – TV shows and films – kept together regardless of which drive they were on. I tried a couple of solutions before I settled on my final decision, and for anyone else finding themselves in the same dilemma I faced, here’s a quick rundown of the programs I tried…

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  • How to set an AFK channel in Teamspeak 3

    I have a private Teamspeak 3 server I run for my friends and I when we play online games. I recently found the need to have an AFK channel, and wondered how to make all users have muted microphones while in that channel. The way to do it is pretty simple, as all you need to do is Right click the channel -> Edit Channel and under moderation on the Standard tab, set Needed talk power to 76.

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