Windows
Four Years of Windows 10: Our Favorite 15 Improvements
Four Years of Windows 10: Our Favorite 15 Improvements – By Chris Hoffmanhowtogeek.com8 min
Four years after its release, we’re all still using Windows 10. But that’s not really true: The version of Windows 10 we’re using today has seen four years of improvements. It’s packed with shiny new features and clever under-the-hood optimizations.
Solve Windows 10 Issues Automatically
Solve Windows 10 Issues Automatically With the New 'Recommended Troubleshooting' Feature – By Brendan Hesse lifehacker.com
You should install the recent Windows 10 May 2019 update, if you haven’t already. The update has a cool new feature, Recommended Troubleshooting, that makes diagnosing and solving common PC issues much easier.
Windows 10 fresh install from USB download
12-minute guide; Windows 10 fresh install from USB download to new SSD/PC. – By Andrew Thrasher, www.youtube.com VIDEO
This guide is intended to help you perform a fresh installation of Windows 10 on your computer. This can be helpful if you have a new SSD and need to install Windows or if your computer came with a lot of bloatware and you want a fresh start. The whole process will usually take under a half-hour to the Windows desktop on a modern i5 with SSD. Hope this guide helps. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to get you an answer.
How to Stop Windows 10 From Automatically Emptying Your Recycle Bin
How to Stop Windows 10 From Automatically Emptying Your Recycle Bin – By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
Windows 10’s Storage Sense feature automatically runs when you’re low on disk space. It automatically deletes files more than 30 days old in your Recycle Bin, too. This was on by default on a PC running the May 2019 Update.
How to fix slow boot times in Windows 10
How to fix slow boot times in Windows 10 when other tips have failed – By Mark Kaelin, www.techrepublic.com
Slow boot times can be extremely frustrating, but there is a trick to improve boot times in Windows 10 that may be worth a try.
Make Your Windows 10 Computer Work Like New Again
How to Make Your Windows 10 Computer Work Like New Again – By David Nield, gizmodo.com
Reinstalling Windows is an easy way to fix a PC that’s been giving you problems. It can resolve most common issues including lagging to mysterious app crashes. With Windows 10, it’s easier to do than ever before. Here’s how to get that brand new PC feeling on your machine.
Everything You Can Do in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update
Everything You Can Do in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update That You Couldn't Do Before – By David Nield, gizmodo.com
Right about now (or in the next few days) you should be seeing the latest major update for Windows 10 hitting your computer—and here’s an overview of all the new features and settings that you can start playing around with once the installation is finished, from launching apps in VR to pausing Windows updates.
– Windows Security Tips
5 Simple Windows Security Tips You've Got No Excuse to Ignore – By David Nield, gizmodo.com
Computer security doesn’t really have to be hard. Some of the smallest, simplest measures can be the most effective in keeping your devices secure—they won’t take long, they’re easy to do, and you don’t really have any excuse for not doing them.
Best Account Security Methods
Here Are the Best Account Security Methods, According to Google – By David Murphy, Email, Twitter, Posts, lifehacker.com
Everywhere you turn, someone is handing out advice about account security and privacy. And while it never hurts to be reminded about all the ways you can protect your critical data, have you topped to wonder whether any of the various security measures you’re taking are actually effective?
WebAuthn Web Authentication with YubiKey 5 – By Todd A. Jacobs, www.linuxjournal.com
A look at the recently released YubiKey 5 hardware authenticator series and how web authentication with the new WebAuthn API leverages devices like the YubiKey for painless website registration and strong user authentication.
Google data shows 2-factor authentication blocks 100% of automated bot hacks – By Napier Lopez, thenextweb.com
Two-factor authentication is annoying. Getting flustered because you have to find your phone and tap on a prompt every time you log into your accounts from a new device is peak first-world problems. But if you ever had any doubt whether it really made you that much safer, Google has the data to dispel that uncertainty.
How to use Windows 10’s Your Phone experience
How to use Windows 10's Your Phone experience – By Mark Hachman, www.pcworld.com
Microsoft’s Your Phone app bridges the gap between your Windows 10 PC and a smartphone, allowing quick interactions with images shot with your phone’s camera and the ability to send and receive texts right from your PC. Having tried, and abandoned, using the phone as your PC with Continuum, Microsoft apparently settled upon an assistant role via the Your Phone app. Eventually, Microsoft hopes that Your Phone will evolve into something even bigger, so it’s worth checking out.
Why Android Users Need Windows 10’s “Your Phone” App
Why Android Users Need Windows 10’s “Your Phone” App – By Josh Hendrickson, www.howtogeek.com
Windows 10’s Your Phone app links your phone and PC. It works best for Android users, letting you text from your PC and wirelessly transfer photos back and forth. Notification sync and screen mirroring features are on the way, too.
Windows 10 tools you might not know about
10 truly helpful Windows 10 tools you might not know about – By Brad Chacos, www.pcworld.com
So you’ve mastered Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts and Snap open windows like a boss. Now what?
Laptop vs. Chromebook: Picking the best computer for you
Laptop vs. Chromebook: Picking the best computer for you – By Joshua Goldman, www.cnet.com
Chromebooks first arrived in 2011, however it's only in the past couple years that they've gained ground on traditional laptops. That's mainly due to widespread adoption by schools, but their overall simplicity and low cost are undeniably attractive for home and work use, too.
Looking for a Microsoft Signature Edition PC? Here’s What to Do Instead
Looking for a Microsoft Signature Edition PC? Here’s What to Do Instead By Josh Hendrickson, www.howtogeek.com
Microsoft’s Signature Edition PCs were one of the Microsoft Store’s best offerings since Microsoft used a clean copy of Windows with no bloatware on these PCs. Microsoft no longer makes Signature Edition PCs, but you can turn any PC into one.
Everything New in Win 10’s April 2019 Update
Everything New in Windows 10’s April 2019 Update – By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
Windows 10’s next update is the April 2019 Update, which is version 1903 and was codenamed 19H1 during development. It features a light theme, speed improvements, and lots of polish. There are no crazy new features like My People or Timeline.
How to Partition Your Hard Drive
How to Partition Your Hard Drive and Why You Would Want To – By David Nield, gizmodo.com
-Partitioning your hard drive sounds like a technically involved task that most people don’t need to bother with—but it’s actually relatively simple to do, doesn’t have to cost you any money, and can make your computing life easier and more productive. Here are the advantages of a partitioned hard drive, and why you might want to do it.
Win 7 Has One Year of Security Patches Left
Windows 7 Only Has One Year of Security Patches Left – By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 7 with security updates on January 14, 2020. It’s like Windows XP all over again—but much worse. Many more people are sticking with Windows 7 than stuck with XP.
What Exactly Happens When You Turn On Your Computer?
What Exactly Happens When You Turn On Your Computer? – By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
When you power on a computer, it goes through a “boot up” process– a term that comes from the word “bootstrap.” Here’s what’s happening in the background—whether you’re using a Windows PC, Mac, or Linux system.
Create a System Image Backup in Windows
How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows 7, 8, or 10 – By Walter Glenn, www.howtogeek.com
The built-in backup utilities in Windows are pretty solid. Let’s take a look at how to create a full backup image of your PC without the need for a third party utility.
Do You Really Need to Regularly Reinstall Windows
Do You Really Need to Regularly Reinstall Windows? – By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
For many people, Windows seems to slow down over time. Quite a few people fix this by regularly reinstalling Windows. But do you really need to regularly reinstall Windows? And, if so, how regularly do you need to reinstall it?
Reinstall Windows 10 Without Deleting Your Software, Files or Settings – By Mark Turner, www.techspot.com
Perform an 'in-place upgrade' to fix a buggy Windows installation
We recently experienced an installation of Windows 10 with system files that were corrupt to the point that certain sections of the Settings app would automatically close when being opened, among other bugs around the platform.
Use Robocopy to back up Win 10 data
How to use Robocopy to quickly back up all your data in Windows 10 – By Greg Shultz, www.techrepublic.com
Windows 10 offers a plethora of ways to back up and restore your data—and even your entire system. For example, there's File History, System Restore, Fresh Start, and System Image Recovery just to name a few.
– Chromebooks vs. Laptops:
Chromebooks vs. Laptops: What's the Difference? – By Daniel Nations, www.lifewire.com
Let's dispense with a likely question right away: Yes, a Chromebook is a laptop. A laptop is a portable computer meant to be placed almost anywhere, including your lap, but still have the same basic functionality and input devices as a desktop. A Chromebook meets all of the specifications. It is simply a laptop running a different operating system (Chrome OS). So what's the difference between a Chromebook and a Windows-based laptop or a MacBook?
No, You Don’t Need Antivirus on a Chromebook – By Cameron Summerson, www.howtogeek.com
Recently, Malwarebytes announced an antivirus for Chromebooks(through its Android app). But here’s the thing: that’s complete bullshit. You don’t need an antivirus on Chrome OS; I don’t care how they try to sell it.
Tip: Download Windows 7 and 8.1 ISOs
Tip: Download Windows 7 and 8.1 ISOs By Paul Thurrott, www.thurrott.com
I’m not sure when this happened, but Microsoft now has ISO downloads available for Windows 7 and 8.1, and not just Windows 10.
How to use Startup Repair to fix boot problems with Windows 10
How to use Startup Repair to fix boot problems with Windows 10 By Mauro Huculak, www.windowscentral.com
It's just a matter of time before your device gets stuck loading or won't start at all. Instead of spending time trying to find out the problem, Windows 10 includes the Startup Repair feature designed to quickly fix most common issues that may be preventing your computer from loading correctly.
Secret Powers of Chrome’s Address Bar
The Secret Powers of Chrome's Address Bar By Thorin Klosowski, lifehacker.com
Chrome's address bar doesn't do much at a glance. Type in a URL and you're taken to a web site. But it can do a lot more if you know how to use it.
We've covered plenty of great Chrome tricks over the years, but the address bar has always been a bit neglected. You can actually do a ton with it though, so let's dig into some of the better tricks.
The Best Grammar Checkers For Every Type Of Writing
The Best Grammar Checkers For Every Type Of Writing by Jennifer Allen @jenjeahaly
We all want to write better and more effectively. It’s easy to become both paranoid and complacent over one’s writing style. Fortunately, there are plenty of online services that help by checking your grammar. We’ve looked at some of the best grammar checkers out there.
Drive Cloning & Imaging
Drive Cloning & Imaging By Explainingcomputers, www.youtube.com VIDEO
Links
Published on Nov 11, 2018
SSD and HDD cloning and imaging explained and demonstrated using Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition. Note that all cloning and imaging software should be used with great care and is downloaded, installed and used at your own risk.
The Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD that I used in the video can be found on Amazon here (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/2Dh2UMK
The free cloning and imaging software that I refer to in the video is available from the following links. Please note that these links are provided in good faith and that I have no association with any of these organizations:
Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition (as I use in the video): https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
Samsung Cloning Software (for Samsung SSDs only): https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor… EaseUs ToDo Backup Free: https://www.easeus.com/backup-softwar… Clonezilla: http://www.clonezilla.org/ My “Laptop SSD Upgrade” video referred to in this video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDTN…
Sysinternals Tools For Windows Power User
5 Sysinternals Tools For Windows Power User by techwiser.com
If you are using Windows for long enough, you should have come across a bunch of useful built-in administrative tools. But do you know that Windows has a suite of free utilities called as Sysinternals, that provide the best configuration, troubleshooting, and diagnostic tools? If not, you should definitely give the tools discussed below a try.
Windows Security You Shouldn’t Ignore
5 Simple Windows Security Tips You've Got No Excuse to Ignore By David Nield, gizmodo.com
Computer security doesn’t really have to be hard. Some of the smallest, simplest measures can be the most effective in keeping your devices secure—they won’t take long, they’re easy to do, and you don’t really have any excuse for not doing them.
Windows Defender Now Offers Ultra Secure Sandbox Mode
Windows Defender Now Offers Ultra Secure Sandbox Mode, Here’s How To Turn It On By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
Windows 10’s built-in antivirus can now run in a sandbox. Even if an attacker compromises the antivirus engine, they wouldn’t have access to the rest of the system. As Google’s Tavis Ormandy puts it, “this is game changing.”
Boot Into Safe Mode on Windows 10
How to Boot Into Safe Mode on Windows 8 or 10 (The Easy Way) By Walter Glenn, www.howtogeek.com
One of the most common steps when troubleshooting a PC is to boot into Safe Mode. Up through Windows 7, you did this by pressing the F8 key during boot—right before Windows started loading. This all changed with Windows 8 and its introduction of Automatic Repair mode—something that continues in Windows 10.
Look Out: Windows 10’s ‘Free Up Space’ Can Empty Your Downloads Folder
Look Out: Windows 10’s ‘Free Up Space’ Can Empty Your Downloads Folder By Justin Pot, www.howtogeek.com
Windows’ built-in cleaning tool can now empty out your Downloads folder, so make sure you don’t check that option if you keep anything important there.
Windows 10’s October 2018 Update
What’s New in Windows 10’s October 2018 Update By Chris Hoffman, www.howtogeek.com
Windows 10’s October 2018 Update, also known as version 1809 and codenamed Redstone 5 during its development process, arrived on October 2, 2018. This major upgrade includes a clipboard history that syncs between your devices and a long-awaited dark theme for File Explorer. It was initially set to bring tabs to all your applications, but that feature didn’t make the cut.
– Office 365 Home Update
Office 365 Home Update – Now with more users, and sign-ins.
Starting October 2, 2018 subscribers to Microsoft Office 365 Home accounts will allow more users to access the subscription and increase login limits.
Microsoft Office 365 Home at $99/year gives access to Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 1 TB of OneDrive storage for each user. Office 365 Home was limited to 5 users with 10 device installs total, five of the devices could be PCs, and the rest could be tablets or phones. With the new terms, Office 365 Home is now going to cover six people instead of five, and each allowed 1 TB of OneDrive storage. Device limit has increased as well, with no limits to the number of devices Office is installed on, and each user can be signed into Office on five devices at a time.
These new changes come at no additional cost. Office 365 Home still costs $99/year, or $9.99 per month directly from Microsoft. You can save more by buying the Microsoft Office 365 Home 1 year Product Key Card from Amazon or Costco, they both offer it for about $85.
Grandparents this is a great gift for your grandchildren.
You can have a copy of Office 365 and five remaining subscriptions to give to your grandkids or anyone you choose. Microsoft Office is the standard in business, being familiar with these tools is essential for young people entering the workforce.
Why Microsoft’s Office 365 is a Great Deal by howtogeek.com
Microsoft’s Office 365 service has been a great deal for a long time, and it’s getting better. Starting, soon Office 365 Home will let six users install an unlimited number of Office applications.
Two-Step Authentication on Your Microsoft Account
How to Set Up Two-Step Authentication on Your Microsoft Account by lifehacker.com
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times: You should use two-factor authentication everywhere you can. It’s an easily enacted security measure that should give you a lot more peace of mind.
Technically, Microsoft protects its apps with “two-step verification” rather than two-factor verification.
Enable OneDrive Folder Protection
How to Enable Microsoft’s New OneDrive Folder Protection in Windows by howtogeek.com
Microsoft OneDrive now offers to “protect” the contents of your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders. You can use your standard file storage folders, and OneDrive will synchronize them as if they were saved in the regular OneDrive folder.
PowerShell cmdlets to speed network troubleshooting
10 PowerShell cmdlets to speed network troubleshooting by techrepublic.com
As Microsoft releases newer versions of its Windows client and server OSes, it continues to double down on PowerShell (PS), the framework developed for managing systems and automation. With its ever-expanding list of commands, called cmdlets, PS is poised to aid in configuring just about any settings found within Windows.
– Grammarly, an online grammar checking tool
Grammarly Review: Is Grammarly Worth All The Hype? by bloggingocean.com
Do you make a lot of grammatical and punctuation errors? Don't worry; you are not the only one to face this problem.
Grammarly, an online grammar checking tool, claims to make writing a lot easier by proofreading your content in real time as you type. Off late, it is gaining a lot of popularity and is being used and recommended by many people.
Grammarly – Advanced grammar and spell checker for iPad and Mac by michaelkummer.com
Grammarly is an advanced grammar and spell checker for iOS and the Mac. It helps me to write better copy at work and in my capacity as a blogger. If you write as much as I do, I would highly recommend to check it out.
Format A Hard Drive Using Command Prompt
How to Format A Hard Drive Using Command Prompt by tomshardware.com
Formatting a drive is the same as buying a new hard drive since the process erases all the data in one fell swoop. When you format your hard drive, you can clean internal as well as external storage media.
OneDrive – backup your desktop
OneDrive makes it easier to backup your desktop clutter by engadget.com
Microsoft rolled out a new OneDrive folder protection feature to its business users in June — now it's available to regular users, too. The feature lets you choose which folders you want to automatically back up to Microsoft's cloud service — desktop, pictures or documents — and it'll keep this activity in sync across multiple Windows 10 PCs, which is handy if you're a fan of downloading files to your desktop.
How Does File Compression Work?
How Does File Compression Work? by howtogeek.com
Software engineers have always developed new ways of fitting a lot of data into a small space. It was true when our hard drives were tiny, and the advent of the internet has just made it more critical. File compression plays a big part in connecting us, letting us send less data down the line so we can have faster downloads and fit more connections onto busy networks.
Yes, You Should Still Change Your DNS Settings for Better Internet
Yes, You Should Still Change Your DNS Settings for Better Internet by gizmodo.com
The DNS (Domain Name System) server settings on your laptop, phone, or router are your gateway to the web—converting easy-to-remember domain names into actual internet IP addresses, just like your contacts app converts names into actual phone numbers. You can change which DNS server your devices use though, and perhaps get yourself a faster, more secure internet connection along the way.
How to Change the DNS Server on a Chromebook by howtogeek.com
Chromebooks allow you to set a custom DNS server, but Google doesn’t make the option easy to find. There are many reasons to change your DNS server, after all.
Windows Disk Cleanup replaces CCleaner
Here’s What You Should Use Instead of CCleaner by howtogeek.com
CCleaner just became worse. The popular system-cleaning tool now always runs in the background, nagging you and reporting anonymous data back to the company’s servers. We don’t recommend you upgrade to CCleaner 4.45. Here’s what you should use instead.
NeverSSL
NeverSSL by NeverSSL.com
This website is for when you try to open Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc on a wifi network, and nothing happens. Type "http://neverssl.com" into your browser's url bar, and you'll be able to log on.
Add or Remove folders in a Library in Win 10
How to Add or Remove folders in a Library in Windows 10 by hewindowsclub.com
To improve and enhance the working experience of users, Windows 10 allows folders from different locations in the Windows Library to be viewed and accessed from a single place. For instance, if you keep some audio/video content on an external hard drive or a shared folder on your network, you can include it in any of the default folders of the Windows 10 Library. In this post, let us learn the method of adding a folder to the Library in Windows 10.
Windows 10’s Backup and Recovery Tools
How to Use All of Windows 10’s Backup and Recovery Tools by howtogeek.com
Windows 10 includes several different types of backup and recovery tools. And we’re going to take a look at all of them.
Sometimes, bad things happen to good computers. Fortunately, Windows includes a number of tools you can use to make sure your files are properly backed up and to recover your computer should you need to. On the backup side of things, File History is the…
Browser Crashing Tech Support Pop-ups Are Back
Look Out: Browser Crashing Tech Support Pop-ups Are Back by howtogeek.com
Those pop-ups that slow down PCs and tell you to call “Microsoft” at a sketchy 1-800 number are back, thanks to an newly exploited browser bug.
Chrome and Firefox users are both reportedly vulnerable to the attack, which disguises itself as a legitimate error message. The bug exploited here was thought to be patched, but scammers
How to Use Windows 10’s Hidden Video Editor
How to Use Windows 10’s Hidden Video Editor by howtogeek.com
Windows 10 has a hidden video editor that works a bit like Windows Movie Maker or Apple iMovie. You can use it to trim videos or create your own home movies and slideshows. You can even have it create videos automatically.
Resize Photos In Windows, Mac & Chromebook
Image Resizer Online Is a Fast Image Resizer
Image Resizer Online does all image resizing in the browser, so you do not need to upload any photos to the server to resize the pictures. Not uploading also allows you to keep your photographs secure as all the images stay on your computer at all times as well as using no bandwidth for sending copies to a server which also makes Image Resizer Online very fast. Or visit: https://imageresizer.online/
Installing the Chrome Extension lets you use the tool with a Chromebook.
Or visit the Web Site to use the tool online directly: https://imageresizer.online/
About
Image Resizer Online was created for a simple reason, to make resizing images online as simple, secure and fast as possible. Image Resizer Online does all the image resizing in the browser which means that your pictures stay on your computer at all times, they never get sent to a server to be processed like many other services.
Image Resizer Online is actively being worked on to improve functionality and user experience. We want to make image resizing and conversion as fast and as simple as possible.
Why use Image Resizer Online
- Works with Windows, Mac, and Chromebooks.
- Pixel or percentage based image resizing
- Image Resizer Online can convert images to JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and WebP (Chrome only)
- Image Resizer Online can compress JPG and WebP images.
- Very fast. Because Image Resizer Online runs in your browser, it's extremely fast.
- Batch image processing. Image Resizer Online can batch process images which means that you can select multiple photos and process them all together.
Need more features check out TinyPNG.
Why use TinyPNG?
PNG is useful because it’s the only widely supported format that can store partially transparent images. The format uses compression, but the files can still be large. Use TinyPNG to shrink images for your apps and sites. It will use less bandwidth and load faster.
Why Windows Defender Av Isn’t Ranked Higher in New Antivirus Tests
Microsoft: Here's Why Windows Defender Av Isn't Ranked Higher in New Antivirus Tests by zdnet.com
Video: When it comes to malware, Windows 10 is twice as secure as Windows 7.
Microsoft's Windows Defender ranks seventh out of 15 antivirus (AV) products in an independent test. But the results don't tell the whole picture, argues Microsoft.
With improvements to Windows 10's built-in Windows Defender antivirus, some users are…