Windows Update Issues

Got an issue with Windows Update Installations? Best bet is a reinstall after a reboot. Updates don't redownload and fail again? Clear the update cache. How?

1. Open Command Prompt by Start -> Run and type "cmd"
2. On the Command Prompt, type "net stop wuauserv". This is done so that you will terminate the windows automatic update service to allow us to delete the cache files
3. Still on the Command Prompt, type "cd /d %windir%" or "cd\windows"
4. Type "rd /s SoftwareDistribution"
5. Thats it, the cache has been purged. Now we need to restart the windows automatic update service again. To do that, type "net start wuauserv"

Not hard, quite simple. What are you doing? Deleting the folder C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\, and making sure that the Update service is stopped. That's it. Good luck.

How to force HTTPS

I used to wonder why anyone would log in to Facebook, Myspace, or any of the other websites with personal information with HTTP. Every time I saw someone do it, I would let them know that with a simple packet sniffer just about anyone could read their messages, user and password, and plenty more that I'm sure that they would rather not show to the world. Sure, maybe that is a long shot to some of you that someone would be sniffing your traffic and even remotely care about what you are sending. Let me make it less of a long shot, from here on, think banking information and identity theft. Closer to home now? Most people either didn't know or didn't care it seemed. Well, after a stint on retyping HTTPS in the address bar every time I went to one of those sites, I realized that it was just simply a pain. Not the worst fate of all if Atlas is in the mix, but still, very agitating. Thus I began my search.After playing with some Firefox add-ons and some unsuccessful attempts at googling for the answer, I stumbled across the solution to my problem. NoScript. Really. I install this add-on every time I install Firefox for someone who won't get too messed up by it. And now I find that it is the response to one of my newest pet peeves. Awesome. Okay, so how do you do this? It's not too bad. Just right click the NoScript icon, go to options, then click on the Advanced tab, and then the HTTPS tab. Type in the websites that you would like to force HTTPS and those that you want to force HTTP. Easy. Done. That is all. Oh, quick note, don't force HTTPS for a site that doesn't have it. According to my in-depth Google search, that could lead to a bad un-ending loop. Just FYI.

Source:http://noscript.net/features