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Though Edge is the default browser in Windows 10, you can still use Internet Explorer 11. Here are some ways to customize IE in Windows 10 to make it work your way. Yes, Internet Explorer is still alive and well in Windows 10 despite Microsoft’s efforts to push everyone toward Microsoft Edge as the default browser. Edge has its advantages, but IE isn’t down for the count just yet. As always, the key to using Internet Explorer is to tweak the browser so it works just the way you like it. Toward that end, you can opt to display or hide toolbars, turn on various privacy and security settings, control your add-ons, and pin websites to the desktop or taskbar. Let’s go through the different steps for customizing and using IE 11 in Windows 10. First off, where the heck is Internet Explorer in Windows 10? Nope, you won’t find it on the Taskbar any longer since Edge has muscled its way into that spot. And you won’t see IE in the Start menu or Start screen, at least not unless and until you put it there. Here’s how to snag it. Click on the Start button and then scroll … Read More »

Privacy has been one of the top issues for many users (and potential users) of Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system. Admittedly, the software company was very reluctant to go outside the box in those early days to address privacy concerns that accompany Windows 10’s uses of telemetry and the mandatory updates. In September 2015, Terry Myerson, the guy in charge of the entire Windows and Devices business within Microsoft, talked about privacy and Windows 10 but it did not go into great detail about what user data was collected; he mainly focused on how the data was used to maintain Windows 10. Nearly two years later, a few months prior to the release of the Creators Update, Myerson once again took to the official Windows Blog and shared about privacy and Windows 10. This time he gave details about a new Privacy Dashboard as part of your Microsoft Account. The dashboard gives you more control over your data that Microsoft has access to, from the operating system to assorted Microsoft products and services. Myerson also detailed changes that were made to put privacy choices front and center when you upgrade to the Creators Update, minimizing the amount of data Microsoft collects at its most basic option. … Read More »

You can give Microsoft’s newest browser an edge by using extensions. The standard lineup of browsers – Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox – all support loads of extensions that enhance their features and functionality. Great, but what Microsoft Edge, the newest browser on the block? Well, Edge has been slow to support extensions, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find several that do work. What extensions are available in Edge, and how can they help you use the browser? You can take advantage of extensions for password managers RoboForm and LastPass, Microsoft Translator, AdGuard’s AdBlocker, Office Online, and Microsoft Personal Shopping Assistant. And more are slowly being released as time goes on. Microsoft added Edge to Windows 10 to take over as the default browser for the aging Internet Explorer. IE is still around in Windows 10 (you can access it from the Start menu in the Windows Accessories folder). Edge offers a more streamlined and cleaner look than its older brother but doesn’t provide quite as many built-in features. If you are an Edge aficionado, you can get a helping hand from a range of freely available and supported extensions. To install an extension, first fire up Edge. Click … Read More »

Windows Defender will feature a full suite of products in the October update, but it still might not be a one-stop shop for security. For the Fall Creators Update, the security focus is squarely on Enterprise and Windows Server users. But while the “creators” in the update name are the primary focus for this update, thanks to an expanded suite of protective features, security hasn’t been completely left out of the picture. Microsoft’s threat-busting service, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, is the site of most of the security changes you’ll find when the Fall Creators Update begins to roll out on October 17. Those changes came about in part because of a European antitrust complaint launched against Microsoft by Kaspersky in June; Kaspersky withdrew the complaint in August, satisfied that the changes in the next Windows 10 update would address its concerns. An expanded Enhanced Alert view provides a wider range of information on threats. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

You can get a better handle on the amount of spam invading your Outlook inbox. Do you receive annoying spam messages in Microsoft Outlook? Junk mail has been a persistent problem for years. And although progress has been made in the fight against spam, we continue to get unwanted and potentially dangerous junk mail. Your email provider should already have a junk mail filter to block out spam, but some of it is still going to reach your inbox. How can you combat and manage the spam you get in Outlook? Microsoft’s email program offers its own junk mail filter, which you can customize to help stop spam while allowing legitimate mail to come through. You can click on a spam message to mark it as spam or click on a legitimate message falsely labeled as spam. You can also add email addresses and domains to your Safe Senders list and your Blocked Senders list. Let’s look at how you can manage your spam in Outlook. For the purposes of this article, I’m using Microsoft Outlook 2016. But the steps apply equally to the past few versions of Outlook. Before you even open Outlook, sign in to your email provider’s … Read More »

This month’s patch watch includes one area to keep a vigilant eye upon. There are issues with Outlook KB4011086 being tracked at this time. See the Office patch section below. Adobe Flash at a Priority 3 Adobe released updates to Flash, RoboHelp, and Adobe Connect and categorized the updates as “Priority 3.” Given our recent Hurricanes in the news, I honestly had to look up what “Priority 3” meant in terms of Adobe patches. In weather-speak, a 3 storm still packs a heavy punch. In Adobe-speak the updates “resolves vulnerabilities in a product that has historically not been a target for attackers. Adobe recommends administrators install the update at their discretion.” For those on Windows 10 and 8.1, as usual you will receive the flash update in the form of KB4038806. Recently I’ve been having to install the Firefox Flash update on my Windows 10 machines in order to watch some Flash-based videos. Even though I had Flash enabled on my Chrome and Edge browser, the video would not play. So all Flash versions are not created equal and you may need to download a few more to get things to work as they should on Windows 10. What to … Read More »

Yep, you can run Android apps in Windows via an emulator. Is there a cool Android app or game that you’d like to check out, but you don’t have an Android device? No problem. You can run that app in Windows courtesy of an Android emulator. Such programs as Andy, BlueStacks, Droid4X, KoPlayer, and Memo emulate the Android operating system on your Windows computer so you can run Android games and other apps designed for Google’s mobile OS. Some emulators offer more features than others, while some are simpler to install and use than others. Once you get the emulator installed, how can you find, download, and install your favorite Android apps? Let’s check it out. You’ll find several different Android emulators floating about in cyberspace. Some are geared more toward Android developers; others are geared more toward consumers interested in playing Android games or using Android productivity apps. Some are free, others will cost you some cash. Some run one of the newer flavors of Android; other run older versions. Here, I’ll look at several free Android emulators designed for those of you who want to run mobile apps and games. Andy This free emulator starts you off with … Read More »

The Windows firewall can be your friend. Here’s how to get along with it. The Windows firewall is around to protect you against malicious apps and other content from the Internet aimed at infecting your PC. Assuming you’re not running a third-party security program with its own firewall, then the Windows Firewall should be active on your machine, looking out for threats. A firewall doesn’t just block malicious applications from hitting your computer but prevents potentially malicious content from being sent from your computer. But the firewall sometimes gets in your way, blocking legitimate content that you want to run and use. You can tweak and fine-tune the firewall so it filters out real dangers while allowing safe content to pass through. Let’s check out the Windows Firewall to see how you can use it and control it. In this article, I use Windows 10 as my client, but the examples you’ll see with Windows firewall works the same in Windows 10, 8.1, and 7. The only differences you’ll see are in the wording of certain features and settings. The Windows firewall supports private networks, such as your home network, as well as public networks, such as ones in a library, … Read More »

Q. When I store things on my hard drive, I feel secure — I can make sure that drive and the computer it’s associated with are disconnected from a network. But with things stored in the cloud — Windows Live Folders, Windows Live SkyDrive, SkyDrive, and OneDrive? Where’s the assurance that my files are secure? A. Before I answer that question, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane. Microsoft’s cloud based file sharing and syncing service, now known as OneDrive, is available to anyone with a Microsoft Account, and typically provides 5GB of cloud based storage. (The only exceptions:You have an Office 365 subscription or you have been grandfathered as storage allowances changed over the past few years.) I was recently asked just how secure are the files which users store in OneDrive and I can answer this questions from a couple of perspectives. First let’s talk about the physical security of your files on OneDrive. To answer this part let me quote something from Microsoft about access to their data centers where your OneDrive files reside in the cloud: “Microsoft’s datacenter personnel must pass a background check. All access to our datacenters is strictly regulated and every entry and … Read More »

Sound not working in Window? Don’t despair. Let’s see if we can fix it. Uh, oh, Windows has suddenly stopped talking. Maybe you can no longer hear the usual beeps, chirps, and other sounds or there’s no music coming from your favorite music software or website. Houston, we have an audio problem. For whatever reason, the audio in Windows seems to like to conk out every now and then. So, what can you do if Windows refuses to say anything? You can run a special troubleshooter designed to track down and fix audio problems. You can also access the Windows Sound panel where you can check or change your default playback device, run an audio test, and modify different properties of your default audio. Let’s go through the steps for resolving audio problems in Windows. Okay, so your audio has crapped out. You’ve made sure your sound isn’t set to mute. You’ve checked the volume levels. If you’re using external speakers on a desktop PC, you’ve made sure the audio cable is plugged in and seated properly and that the speakers are functioning. You’ve rebooted your PC. And still no sound. First up, let’s try one of the built-in Windows … Read More »

The grammar checker tries to be helpful but sometimes falls down on the job. Here’s how you can use and tweak it to make it more effective. Microsoft Office comes with a grammar checker to help you proofread your documents and correct any mistakes and typos. But sometimes the grammar checker gets in your way. The grammar checker may be set to automatically flag words and sentences it thinks are flawed, a visual style that can become obtrusive. At times, the grammar checker seems off-base, trying to fix things that don’t need fixing. Thankfully, Office includes a variety of settings and options for the grammar checker so you’re the one in the driver’s seat. You can turn the automatic checker on or off, tell the checker to always ignore certain items, and add words to Office’s dictionary so it won’t flag them in the future. Let’s look at the Office grammar checker to see how you can control it instead of the other way around. The main features of the Microsoft Office grammar checker are shared across all the individual applications. So, you’ll find most of the same capabilities, options, and limitations whether you run the checker in Word, Excel, … Read More »

The word “safety” can imply different kinds of judicious personal protection. Safety definitely is the obvious benefactor with these disparate devices: From an external hard drive that has a double layer of security and a USB fingerprint dongle that makes Windows log in a touch easier to computer eyeglasses which cut out the blue and a pen you can’t lose thanks to Bluetooth, these hardware picks make it clear your personal safety is designed to come first. Keeping Your Data Doubly Safe with Pin Pad Log-on and Hardware Encryption With no software or drivers required, iStorage’s diskAshur external hard or SSD drives all but scream data security. What’s not to like?. I just plugged in the integrated USB 3.1 cable into my laptop and was ready to backup my precious data. Well, almost ready. First I had to create a 7 to 15 alphanumeric PIN on the topside keypad. Without your personal PIN – just like the one you use at an automated teller machine—there is no way to read or write your data. Only after tapping in the right PIN does the drive get recognized by the computer. And that is just the first indication of how security minded the diskAshur … Read More »

The side effects of August updates aren’t quite over yet. Windows 10 1703 release of KB4034674 is not installing for some – but not all – Windows 10 users. In my personal case where I had an issue installing this update, I solved it in two ways to work around the issue. The first way was to manually install the update from the Microsoft catalog site, downloading the update to the computer and then letting it install. Another method: go into the control panel, then to services, stopped the Windows update service and then drilled down to the following folders and deleted the contents: C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download Reboot the computer which in turn will restart the Windows update service. Now attempt to install the update again. You can see others having this same issue in this thread. If you’d like a graphical view of what to do, I would follow this guide and stopping at the second step. I’m unsure if Microsoft is aware of this issue, but in the meantime we can get these updates installed and work around the issue. I will be monitoring and see if Microsoft follows up with any fix for this issue. What to do: Attempt to … Read More »

Yes, you can keep your favorites and bookmarks in check courtesy of a free third-party program. Do you use multiple Web browsers across multiple PCs? Maybe you use Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox on your Windows desktop, laptop, and tablet. Perhaps you also have a Mac on which you browse the Web. If so, one of the challenges is keeping your favorites and bookmarks in sync. Add, delete, or change a bookmark in one place, and you have to manually make that change everywhere else. Well, not if you have a utility that can automatically sync your bookmarks across multiple browsers and computers. And for that, you can tap into a helpful and free browser extension called Xmarks from LastPass. Yes, Firefox and Chrome both offer their own features to sync your bookmarks across different devices. But those features work only in that browser, not with other browsers. By installing Xmarks for each browser across your various PCs, any changes you make to your favorites and bookmarks automatically propagate and sync with the other browsers on your other devices. To sync your favorites and bookmarks, Xmarks maintains an encrypted master list on its website, accessible only through your username … Read More »

Q. I do family tech support – would Windows 10 S be a good OS option for my relatives? A. As advanced users, many of you are likely on speed dial for some members of your family whenever they’re confounded by computer issues. Previously I had discovered that Windows 10 itself can help control many of the routine issues everyday users experience plus the Quick Assist Tool in the operating system makes it easy to connect with a remote system. Although Windows 10 itself has good security — and you can force a user to use Microsoft Edge to prevent random toolbar installs since all Edge extensions must be installed from the Windows Store — you can still experience some issues such as drive-by downloads of malicious software. In addition, how about those fake pop-ups asking a user to update their Flash install? Your relatives may still click on those. Microsoft’s Windows 10s —  launched as a variation of Windows 10 for educational institutions– can be used in situations where you want to prevent malicious software from entering and executing on the system from any avenue. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

These add-ins can beef up and enhance the Outlook web client so you can do more with the program. Do you ever use Outlook.com for your email? The web-based version of Outlook offers a healthy array of features. But it can always stand sprucing up. And one way to do that is through an add-in. An add-in compensates for the limitations in a Microsoft program or other application. You’ll find a variety of add-ins for Outlook.com at Microsoft’s Office store. But I’ve gathered what I think are three helpful and free ones. Email Translator can translate the text of an Outlook email into the language of your choice. Send Anywhere for Outlook lets you send large file attachments. And PayPal for Outlook lets you send money to someone directly within Outlook.com using your PayPal account. Before we go further, notice I said Outlook.com and not Microsoft Outlook. And here’s the major hitch with Outlook add-ins. Beyond supporting Outlook.com, most support the Microsoft Outlook desktop client but only if you connect to Office 365 or Microsoft Exchange on the backend. Most add-ins won’t work with the Outlook desktop program if you connect to your ISP’s email or another mail service, such … Read More »

An image file can restore a sickly Windows 8.1 environment back to a healthy state. Your Windows 8.1 computer is acting funky. Maybe certain Windows features aren’t working properly. Or perhaps Windows is freezing or blue screening. Are you up the creek? Not if you have an image file that you can use to recover Windows. In Windows 8.1, you can use a special command-line utility called recimg to create an image file of your entire Windows environment. Then if something goes kerflooey, you can restore that image file to get Windows 8.1 up and running again. For that reason, you can and should run the command on a regular basis so the image file is always up to date. How can you create this image file and then use it to recover Windows 8.1? Let’s take a look. Since the recimg utility in Windows 8.1 is a command-line utility, it can be quicker to use versus a full GUI program where you must go step by step. Further, simply refreshing your PC without specifying an image file retains your Windows 8.1 apps, your personal files, and customized settings. But it does not retain your desktop applications or your PC … Read More »

I have a phrase I often use with technology: Keep the children on the playground the same age. This means not mixing older and younger groups; they have different skill levels and abilities. The same goes for  .NET 4.7, applications and Windows 7. If you dig into various locations on the web you will see post install side effects such as the following: Impacting Autocad and earlier versions as noted in a forum .NET 4.7 crashing Quickbooks as noted on a blog Possible issues with Arcgis Pro May have issues with touchscreen inputs as notes in this post Techsmith Snagit impact with .NET 4.7 as noted in this forum I’ll be investigating and see if the 4.7 update is the trigger for these issues but in the meantime if you are impacted and want to block .NET 4.7 you can use a registry key as noted on the Ghacks site. Tap on the Windows-key, type regedit.exe, and hit the Enter-key on the keyboard. This should start the Windows Registry Editor. Go to the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP Right-click on NDP and select New > Key. Name that key WU. Right-click on WU, and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value. Name … Read More »

Surprisingly, there’s nothing to worry about as of right now. So let’s assess what patches you should look at. Adobe Flash and Reader Review A priority this month should be to prioritize the August Flash update. Adobe has released the August flash update so expect updates to Chrome to support the Flash update. For Windows look for KB4034662 to update the Flash in Windows 10 and 8.1. I still use and see many sites that use flash, and thus it’s still wise to ensure flash is up to date before doing any major surfing in any browser. Also expect an Adobe reader update in the form of an Adobe patch fixing 43 critical issues. What to do: Check your Flash and Adobe reader versions and review your browsers to ensure they are up to date. Do you need SMBv1? Included in this month’s updates for all versions of Windows is an issue with Windows Search. With this bug a malicious attacker can come through a smb connection and take control of a system. In a network this could lead to ransomware attacks like we’ve recently seen so if you are in a firm, please either review if you’ve disabled SMBv1 … Read More »

The answer is, “Sort of.” Before I explain, here’s a brief reminder of what that feature is, why it was so well-loved in Windows 8.1, and what aspects of it have come back now. An extremely popular feature of Microsoft’s consumer cloud storage offering in Windows 8.1, OneDrive Placeholders allowed a user to view all of their files stored in OneDrive on any device that used their Microsoft Account to log in. When a user viewed their OneDrive files locally, every folder and file in the OneDrive account was displayed in File Explorer. It was a nice way to see what files you had stored. There were options to choose which files to download and store locally; a user had to make sure they did this for any files they would need offline access to. You could select individuals files or entire folders to make sure they were stored on the physical hard drive. As development of Windows 10 was nearing its initial release in June 2015, Microsoft announced that this feature would be deprecated and removed from OneDrive. Instead, Windows 10 users would be able to see their OneDrive contents via a process called selective sync. Windows 10 users were not pleased … Read More »

You can hunt down and often resolve glitches in Office, either by repairing it or by running a special Microsoft utility. Is one of your Microsoft Office applications giving you trouble? Maybe certain features aren’t working properly, or the application itself is freezing or crashing. What can you do to find and fix the problem? One option is to run a repair of Office, which you can do through the Programs and Features screen in Control Panel. If that doesn’t work, then reinstalling Office may be necessary. But Microsoft might also be able to help in the form of a free program called the Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer Tool. This utility can scan your Office configuration and list any known problems along with links to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles on how to fix those problems. Let’s go through the different ways to resolve problems in Office. I recently bumped into trouble with Microsoft Outlook in which the search index wasn’t working. At another time, I ran into a problem with Word in which the program would randomly freeze or crash. So, like any piece of software, Microsoft Office can misbehave for one reason or another. In the event of a … Read More »

Styles can help you more easily and quickly format your text. If you’re a Microsoft Word user, you may spend a lot of time formatting your text a certain way, carefully applying different attributes and making sure the formatting is consistent. And sometimes the formatting doesn’t turn out the way you want. Seems there’s got to an easier way to format items in Word, whether a single piece of text or an entire document. And there is, through styles. Styles help you format chunks of text, anything from a single word to an entire paragraph. Word comes with several built-in styles, but you can create your own based on existing text and then apply those styles anytime you want, saving you time and effort. Let’s go through the steps for using, creating, and applying styles in Word. I’ll use Word 2016 in the form of Office 365 as my test bed. But the steps I cover here pertain equally to the past several previous versions of Word. Styles apply various attributes to anything from a single word (or even a single character) to an entire paragraph. For single words or paragraphs, those attributes can be a specific font, point size, … Read More »

The command prompt is still alive and well in Windows 10, and here’s how you can use and control it. Yes, Windows 10 is packed with lots of GUI features, but that doesn’t mean the command prompt is a has-been. Even in Windows 10, the command prompt remains an effective tool for running certain commands and accessing certain features. Though the command prompt has remained more or less the same over the years, you will find some new tricks up its sleeve in Windows 10. So, what can you do with the command prompt and how can you manage and control it to make it easier to use? Let’s look at how to tame the command prompt in Windows 10. First off, the command you use to open a command shell from the Windows Power Users menu (the menu that appears when you right-click on the Start button) differs based on your version of Windows 10. In the original version and the Anniversary Update, the command is known as Command Prompt. And launching that command places you at the familiar prompt that’s been around since the early days of Windows. In the Spring Creators Update released in April 2017, Microsoft … Read More »

So did you end up with Windows 10, version 1703 installed on your machine last week? Or did you have a computer where it attempted and failed? Were you as surprised as I was by the installation? Am I admitting that I, Susan Bradley, the Patch Watch lady, was totally caught off guard that last week 1703 was declared Current Branch for Business (CBB) and thus would be widely released to everyone who chose to defer the feature release? Am I admitting that I, Susan Bradley, the Patch Watch lady, was, or rather, still is confused about the new updating cadence, new name for the feature releases and new patching options? Yes and yes. I’m still trying to figure out the new normal for patching Windows 10. Let me tell you what I am sure of: Microsoft loves to keep changing the rules, we need to roll with the flow and hopefully this will be the last major change in updating naming and timing. The names and timing we used to have was called Current Branch (what Home version computers are on) or Current Branch for Business (what Pro versions can opt to do). Last week if you had Windows 10 … Read More »

You can free up memory and boost performance by putting the kibosh on unnecessary startup programs. Every program that automatically loads when Windows starts up chews up more of your PC’s memory. The more programs that muscle their way into your startup routine, the less available memory you have to run your applications. And many programs that start up automatically don’t necessarily need to do so. How can you control your Windows startup programs? In Windows 7, you can use the System Configuration tool. In Windows 8.1 and 10, you can use the Task Manager. But if these built-in tools aren’t sufficient, you can turn to a third-party utility. Such tools as Sysinternals AutoRuns and Autorun Organizer can help you determine which programs you can kick out of your startup routine and how to give them the heave-ho. Let’s see how you can get a better handle on your Windows startup programs. Many Windows programs like to climb onboard your startup routine. Some programs do legitimately need to launch at startup, such as anti-virus software and backup software like Microsoft OneDrive. But a lot of programs insist on starting up automatically whether or not they need to. That may be … Read More »

There are a handful of ways to get around logging on to Windows 10 without having to use the default password method. In fact, you can even skip using a password altogether with some minor tweaks. Although some of the alternative log-ons require using touch screen tech, there are mouse and keyboard roundabouts are built into the OS, too. Let’s survey how you can circumvent the password log-on. But First, an Explanation for Why There Are Passwords on Your Machine If you’re going to use Windows 10, Microsoft requires a Microsoft account. There’s no way around this. That’s because Microsoft wants to be tethered to your PC for security updates, password resets, online connection, access to the Microsoft Store, and for automatic updates. But Microsoft knows passwords can be troublesome (some of us have memory issues, for example), so they have built half a dozen different ways to log on to your PC beyond the traditional password. Some of these require your PC or laptop have integrated biometric hardware such as fingerprint readers, camera-based facial readers or eye scanners. If your computer has any of this special hardware you will be able to set up a sign-in using Windows Hello. For … Read More »

It’s the end of July and we finally have some out of band fixes for the issues introduced by the June updates. I’m using the Office known issues page to keep track of issues. To remind you the following problems were introduced by the June updates: Issues opening attachments When you open an attachment in an email, contact, or task formatted as Rich Text you get the following error: “The program used to create this object is Outlook. That program is either not installed on your computer or it is not responding. To edit this object, install Outlook or ensure that any dialog boxes in Outlook are closed.” Both Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2007 still has no workaround or patch at this time. The underlying issue was caused by the following updates: KB3191898 Outlook 2007 KB3203467 Outlook 2010 This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

These utilities will beef up Windows so you can work more smoothly and effectively. Windows comes packed with a host of features and programs that try to ease your life in front of the computer. But even after all these years and all these versions, Windows still lacks some key features that would make your work go even easier. That’s where third-party utilities come into play. Many such utilities compensate for the weaknesses or limitations in Windows. One such utility is ClipX, which can store multiple items at a time via the Windows clipboard. Another utility is EditPad Lite, which is more robust and flexible than Notepad or WordPad. And a third is VirtuaWin, which lets you create and bounce among multiple virtual desktops. Let’s look at some of my favorite utilities and see how they can help you. ClipX The Windows clipboard, which stores items you’ve cut or copied so you can then paste them, has been around since the beginning. But even after all these years, the clipboard is limited. The major limitation is that you can only copy or cut and paste one item at a time. Add another item to the clipboard, and the previous item … Read More »

The latest financial reports showcase that Redmond’s bet on the cloud is paying off. But there’s one place that I think Microsoft could do better: Selling subscriptions to small businesses. I’ve personally found that buying various different cloud subscriptions can be confusing and in some cases, if you buy a cloud service from one vendor it may impact what you can buy from another vendor. Recently I wanted to buy a single copy of Windows 10 Enterprise including the Advanced Threat Protection service. But before I get into the particulars of my story, let’s step back a bit and explain what these new additional services do and why I wanted to purchase them. Microsoft has added to Office 365 and to Windows 10 desktops services that allows a savvy end user or a small business to have some interesting forensic tools at their disposal in the form of advanced threat protection service. When it’s added to Office 365, it allows the Outlook user to have additional protections from malware, ransomware and other targeted attacks. It filters urls in messages and filters email attachments. As noted in the literature, it can be added to the following products: Exchange Online Plan 1 Exchange … Read More »

You can check out Office for free to help you decide if you want to buy it. Interested in using Microsoft Office — either the one-time purchase Office 2016 or the subscription-based Office 365, but not yet sure you want to shell out the money? Well, don’t open your wallet just yet. There are ways you can check out Microsoft Office for free to see if you like it before you spend your hard-earned cash. Here’s how to get started: try out the free Office Online version, which offers Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. Though this version lacks the set of features of the desktop edition, it will at least give you a taste of the full suite. You can check out a free 30-day trial of Office 365 to see what you think of it. Alternately, At Microsoft’s TechNet Evaluation Center, you can access and use an eval version of Office 365 for up to 30 days. And if you’re a student or teacher at a qualifying school, you may be able to snag Office 365 for free. Let’s look at the different ways you can take Office for a free spin. A Look at the free Office Online … Read More »

Want to get more out of Microsoft OneDrive or just customize some of its settings? Here’s how. You may already be running Microsoft OneDrive and hopefully find it an effective way to back up and synchronize your documents and other files. But what if you want to make changes to your OneDrive configuration? Maybe you want to add or remove folders to sync via OneDrive. Perhaps you want to change the location of the local folders that you sync with OneDrive. Or maybe you’ve accidentally deleted a folder or file in OneDrive and need to recover it. (Hint: OneDrive offers a Recycle Bin through which you can often recover deleted files). Yep, you can do all this by tapping into OneDrive’s settings on your PC and your online storage space. Let’s look at how to customize and manage your OneDrive configuration. We’ll be using the regular desktop version of OneDrive to start. The software is already baked into Windows 10 and Windows 8.1. Windows 7 users running OneDrive should already have downloaded the OneDrive application from the home page of the OneDrive website and used it to set up the service. Okay, let’s say you’ve been using OneDrive and now … Read More »

Many of us use some form of cloud storage these days and if you are in the Microsoft ecosystem that means you are more than likely to be using OneDrive for that option. OneDrive is a sync-based cloud service: That means if you change, delete, or move a file on one device where you access those files then that action will be duplicated across all of your OneDrive access points. It does not make for a very good backup option compared to more traditional backups. However, there is a feature available that provides a short-term option to recover previous versions of your files, if you need to return to older editions to check revisions you made or reverse them. As of right now, OneDrive only supports Office documents for this Version History feature. however, this week Microsoft announced a change that will roll out to consumers by the end of summer: Instead of being able to retrieve only older Office documents, you’ll be able to recover previous versions of any file type you can store on OneDrive — so long as those previous file version are less than 30 days old. With all that said, let’s walk through how the version-history feature works in OneDrive. … Read More »

You can beef up Microsoft Word with the right add-ins. Microsoft Word packs a lot of features and functionality into one single application. But there’s always room for more. Perhaps you wish Word included a built-in dictation feature that converted your speech into text. Or maybe you’d like a Word feature that reads your documents aloud to you. Or perhaps you’d like a built-in translator that can translate your text from one language to another. Well, Word may not include these items, but you can tap into them by installing an add-in. Add-ins provide greater functionality and flexibility to an Office application so you can do so much more with the program. You’ll find an array of Word add-ins through Microsoft’s online Office Store, but I’m going to highlight what I think are some of the top and most interesting add-ins to give you a head start. We’ll look at Dictate, an add-in that lets you dictate your documents directly into Word; TextAloud, an add-in that reads your text aloud to you; Read My Document; another add-in that reads your text to you; Translator, an add-in that can translate text in your document between different languages; Collins Dictionary; an add-in … Read More »

So you want to get rid of all those browser cookies that track your every move online and result in annoying, targeted Web ads. So you open up your browser settings and delete all or some of the cookies that have accumulated. But the targeted ads keep coming. So what’s up? What’s up is a little Flash quirk that allows sites to store bits of code called “super cookies,” “persistent cookies,” or “zombie cookies.” No matter how you refer to them, their source is Adobe Flash which saves its version of cookies independent of any web browser functions. The possibly insidious nature of Flash cookies containing personal information and then directly or indirectly sharing it with abandon became quite the brouhaha in 2009 and 2010. Because Adobe Flash, too often needed for playing videos and audio, also became a favorite carrier of malware, Adobe was compelled to repeatedly patch and update to ward off real and potential security threats. So although the current versions have mostly cleaned up the malware intruders, Flash still permits sites to add tracking and other miscellaneous cookies. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown in how it works, using common sites as real-life examples. Let’s say Yahoo sells an ad to DoubleClick. This means when you … Read More »

Is that file you permanently deleted gone for good? Not if you have the right software to bring it back to life. You’ve deleted a document or other file in Windows — only to realize you need that file. What can you do to get it back? Naturally, the first place to look is the Windows Recycle Bin. To check for the file, double-click on the Recycle Bin icon, which should be nestled on your desktop. You’ll see all the deleted files in the Recycle Bin folder. If you spot the file you want to recover, great. Just right-click on it and click Restore from the popup menu. The file is restored to its original location. The same holds true for a folder. Right-click it and click Restore, and the folder is returned to its original locale. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Windows 10 works on desktops, laptops, tablets, and laptops that can turn into tablets (sometimes called convertibles or laplets). But its touchscreen interface is far from perfect, especially when you compare it to Android or iOS. There are good reasons to use a Windows 10 laplet instead of a dedicated tablet with an Apple or Google operating system: You have access to more powerful applications, you have a real, user-controllable file system, and most Windows 10 tablets can turn into full-fledged laptops. But when you remove your keyboard and mouse, and depend entirely on touch, Windows 10 turns clumsy. I’ll describe some of Windows 10’s worst touch UI problems, and hope that someone at Microsoft reads this article. I’ll also provide the few fixes and workarounds I could find. The Big Tiny Problem Consider selecting a folder from a dropdown menu in File Explorer. It’s easy with a mouse. But when the only pointer available is your finger, you have a good chance of selecting the wrong folder. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Though you may already use a program like Microsoft Outlook, the Windows 10 Mail app can prove useful. The Windows 10 Mail app may seem lightweight, but it’s still useful. You can use it to access your Web-based mail (such as Gmail or Yahoo), an email account through your Internet provider, or an Office 365 email account. The app itself may lack the bells and whistles of a Microsoft Outlook, but it’s easy to access and can smoothly juggle more than one email account. Sometimes, no-frills is just what you need. Let’s go through the steps for setting up and using the Windows 10 Mail app. First, open the Mail app by clicking on its icon on the taskbar or clicking on the Start button, scrolling down the Apps list, and clicking on the shortcut for Mail. The first time you launch it, the app prompts you to set up an account. Click on the link to Add account. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

In Windows 7, you can create and customize accounts all from Control Panel. Adding user accounts in Windows 10 is a relatively straightforward process. You can add and manage accounts from the Accounts screen under Settings. In Windows 7, the process isn’t difficult but it is different. You create and modify accounts from the good, old-fashioned Control Panel. You can add new accounts, change their names, change their passwords, change the account type between a standard user and an administrator, and create a password reset disk for your own account. For those of you still running Windows 7, let’s go through the steps for creating and tweaking user accounts. Creating multiple user accounts is a convenient option if you’re sharing a single PC among different people. Those of you in the same household or small office can sign in with your individual account and create your own individual desktop, wallpaper, color scheme, and other settings. Windows 7 supports three types of accounts: Administrator, Standard, and Guest. With an administrator account, you can create and modify other accounts and change virtually all system settings in Windows. With a standard account, you can modify your own settings but you can’t create or … Read More »

Still running Windows 7 but have never used the Media Center? Here’s how it works and what you can do with it. Microsoft put the kibosh on Windows Media Center as a built-in application in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1. But those of you running Windows 7 can still tap into the Media Center program. With Media Center, you can access your videos, music, photos, and more. You can play DVDs and view slide shows. You can even watch live TV and record TV shows. So, how can you get Media Center up and running to view your multimedia content? Let’s check it out. First, if you’re running Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate, then Media Center is automatically baked in and accessible. If you’re running Windows 8.1, you could access Media Center by purchasing an add-on program called the Windows 8.1 Pro Pack. Microsoft stopped selling the Pro Pack back in 2015. But you may still be able to find the program from third-party resellers via Amazon. And what about those of you running Windows 10? Are you out of luck as far as Windows Media Center? Officially, yes. Unofficially, no. Microsoft doesn’t make a version of Media … Read More »

Ransomware Hits the Same Vulnerabilities Keep calm: While the news is grim over the latest ransomware, the steps we’ve taken earlier will most likely keep most of us secure. It’s key that you have March’s Windows updates installed to protect from the SMBv1 vulnerabilities and April’s Office updates installed to protect from the RTF (Rich Text Format) vulnerability being used in the attacks. In addition, the vulnerability is specifically targeting networks and using some additional tricks up their sleeves as noted in PTSecurity blog post. The attackers are utilizing various network tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and PsExec to distribute the ransomware throughout a network. It further uses password retrieval tools to gain the local administrator passwords on the workstations in the network. For home and small businesses the best protection is to be vigilant in not opening suspicious emails, and to ensure the March and April updates are installed. What to do: Ensure your systems have the March’s Windows updates installed to protect from the SMBv1 vulnerabilities and April’s Office updates installed. Windows Fixes for IE Printing and Indexing Microsoft has released updates to Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 to fix issues introduced by the June 13th Windows … Read More »

You might think that there is not much more you could do to improve the capabilities of computer keyboards and mice. And really, what much more do you need to type and point, right? I have been reviewing input devices since the days of Windows 3.1. Sure, there have been many technological improvements, as we might expect over the last 25 years since Windows 3.1 was launched. But what’s amazing that in just the last year alone advancements in keyboard and mouse technology tweak what I thought was already the best. Say Hello to the Mouse Master For example, just about two years ago I praised Logitech’s MX Master mouse [link] for its various, robust features that extend mouse calisthenics beyond just navigating and clicking. Back then I thought this was about as far as a pointing device could reach. But now Logitech has indeed upped its game with the MX Master2 [link]. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

You can set up a dual-boot scenario to run both versions on the same machine. Do you want to check out Windows 10 but continue to run Windows 7? Or maybe you’re already using Windows 10 but want to be able to still use Windows 7? You can juggle both flavors of Windows by setting up a dual-boot system. Assuming you’re already running Windows 7, you can steal a chunk of its partition space and use it to create a new partition to house Windows 10. Alternatively, if you’re running Windows 10, you can snip off a portion of it to add a new partition for Windows 7. Once both operating systems are up and running, you can choose which one you wish to use each time you fire up your computer. All you need is a healthy amount of hard disk space to make it all work. How do you prep your PC to run both versions of Windows? Let’s check it out. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Outlook Updates Are Causing Multiple Issues I’m tracking several issues with the June Outlook updates that were released last week. Unfortunately I don’t have a fix for these issues, just a lot of recommended workarounds from Microsoft. The known issues have been documented in a web page showcasing the Office known issues, which also showcases that there will be an update expected on June 27th fixing the issue. If you are impacted by the issues noted, try any of the below solutions. Issues opening attachments: When you open an attachment in an email, contact, or task formatted as Rich Text you get the following error: “The program used to create this object is Outlook. That program is either not installed on your computer or it is not responding. To edit this object, install Outlook or ensure that any dialog boxes in Outlook are closed”. To work around the issue, save the attachment to your local drive and open it from there. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Have a second hard drive and want to move your personal Windows files and content there? Here’s how. You have a PC with two hard drives. And you want to move your personal files and certain content from your C drive to your D drive to keep them separate from your Windows system files. Yep, that’s doable, though it does involve a few steps. You have to redirect each folder to its new location so Windows knows where you’ve put it. And you have to tell your various applications, such as Microsoft Office, that your documents and files will be housed in different default folders. But if you follow the right steps, your personal files will rest soundly in their new location, and Windows and your applications will know just where to find them. Windows creates a Users folder to store subfolders for anyone who has an account on a PC. The folder for your account is home to an array of files and other data, including your contacts, your desktop icons, your favorite webpages, your downloads, your documents, your music, your pictures, your videos, and more. By default, your Users folder is created on your C drive right off … Read More »

No results coming up when you run a search in Microsoft Outlook? Here are several ways you can troubleshoot and hopefully fix such a problem. Are you coming up empty when you search for messages in Microsoft Outlook? The search feature does have a way of going on the fritz every now and then. The issue sometimes lies within the Windows search indexing, which sometimes stops working properly. But other factors can impact Outlook searches. The problem becomes obvious when you run a search for messages that you know are in your mailbox, but Outlook says it couldn’t find anything. You may not be able to find the specific cause of the glitch, but there are several ways you can try to resolve it. You can remove Outlook from the search index and then add it back. You can rebuild the search index. You can scan your PST file for errors. And if all else fails, you can create a new PST file. I recently bumped into search problems in Outlook. When typing the name of a person or subject or other criteria in the Search Current Mailbox field, I’d get nada in return. And I knew I should be … Read More »

Here are some tips and tricks to help you Microsoft Word users get your work done more quickly. If you use Microsoft Word as your core application for creating and editing documents, you may find that performing certain tasks takes too long or is too awkward. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to enhance Word to make it faster, more powerful, and more efficient. You can save time creating a new document by starting with one of Word’s built-in templates. You can record a good, old macro to automate different actions. You can customize the Ribbon to add commands and features you frequently use. You can tweak the Quick Access toolbar to also add often-used commands and features. You can create and apply styles and themes to content in a Word document to quickly format it the way you want. And you can use the “Tell me what you want to do” feature in Word so the program can help you find and run specific commands. For this article, I’m using Word 2016, but the steps here apply to Word 2013 and Word 2010 as well. So, let’s dive right in. Use a Template This article is part of our premium content. … Read More »

In an unprecedented move from Microsoft, more XP patches were released to prevent attacks from Nation states. You’ll need to go to the download center to get patches for these older versions. This is a serious issue and a sign that cyberwarfare is getting serious. Older Operating Systems Get Patches Too In an unexpected move, Microsoft released several updates for older computer systems due to current or expected attacks from nation-state actors according to a Microsoft blog post. The post went on to urge us to still update these older platforms to supported operating systems but it’s good that Microsoft has made the decision to update these unprotected systems nonetheless. Microsoft deems that we need these updates due to a “heightened risk of exploitation due to past and threatened nation-state attacks and disclosures”. For Windows XP make sure you have the following updates installed: KB958644 — a 2008 update that you should already have installed. KB2347290 — a 2010 update that may already have been installed back then. KB4012598 KB4012583 KB4022747 KB4018271 for IE8 KB4018466 KB3197835 KB4024323 KB4025218 KB4024402 KB4019204 For Server 2003 sp2 (64bit) please make sure you have the following updates installed: KB958644 — a 2008 update that you should already … Read More »

These days I do not need a full FTP client as much as I used to several years ago. Part of this is just because we now tend to access everything over the Internet through websites instead of downloads from FTP servers. Remember getting some big updates from a company by downloading from their FTP server? Anyway, while there are plenty of fully equipped FTP clients out there to download, sometimes we just need a quick connection to grab some files – in my case for my website maintenance – and need something straight forward and simple. Well did you know that there is an FTP client built right into the Windows File Explorer? It has actually been there through the last few versions of Windows and is very easy to setup and use for these infrequent FTP sessions. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

PDF documents are commonplace today:  paper manuals for software and hardware have mutated into online links for do-it-yourself PDF downloads. Read Me files, brochures, and other documents are also pervasive as downloadable PDFs. Entire websites exist to help liberate you from the tyranny of keeping paper documentation on hand. So it’s just a hazy memory for most of us to recall the days back in the early 1990s when you could only read PDFs if you had Adobe Reader installed, and if you wanted to create PDF files, you had to have Adobe Acrobat. Known by its full name, portable document format, the PDF was Adobe System’s proprietary format until 1993 when the company made the file specification available for free. It actually wasn’t until July 1, 2008, that the portable document format was released as an open standard for all to use. That’s when the floodgates opened to the dozens of third party PDF readers, viewers, creators, editors, and converters—both as free and paid versions. But what’s so special about PDFs anyway? First: They are compact files and can be viewed on just about any platform – create it on Windows and easily opened on Macs, Android, iOS, you name it. This … Read More »

You can share and collaborate on your Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with other people. Microsoft Office 2016 offers an array of applications and features. But perhaps one of the most helpful benefits is the ability to share and collaborate on your documents and presentations with other people. By storing your files on your OneDrive online space, you can share them with other users. And you can collaborate on the same documents and presentations in real-time with others. How can you share and collaborate on your Office files? Let’s take a look. Some of the steps I discuss here work with previous versions of Office, such as Office 2013. But I’m using Office 2016 as my test bed. The steps also work whether you’re running the packaged version of Office 2016 or the subscription version of Office 365. It’s the same product, just sold differently. You’ll need a OneDrive account to store your files online so other people can access them. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for it at the OneDrive website. And to use OneDrive, you’ll need a Microsoft account, which you register for through Microsoft’s “Sign up for a Microsoft account” webpage. To start, … Read More »

Interested in trying out the mobile version of Office on your phone or tablet? How do you know which edition to pick up and how to get it and use it? Read on. Microsoft Office is first and foremost a desktop application for PCs. But it’s also a mobile app, or series of apps, accessible on Windows phones and tablets, the iPhone, the iPad, and Android devices. Beyond the various editions for each operating system, you can snag either a free or paid flavor of Office Mobile. But how do you know which flavor to pick, where to find it, and what you can do with it? Let’s see how you can snag the mobile software for different devices and what you’ll find in the program. Geared toward smartphones and tablets, Office Mobile includes at its core Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Microsoft also offers mobile versions of related apps, such as Outlook, Sway, OneDrive, and Skype. Versions of each app that allow for basic editing are free for devices with screen sizes smaller than 10.1 inches. So, you can edit documents on smartphones, on smaller Windows and Android tablets, and on the 9.7-inch iPad and the iPad mini. The … Read More »

An ongoing challenge for every computer user is how to maximize their effective use of an application while minimizing the time spent getting to prime performance. A few time-tested methods: Making use of templates, finding ways to automate some tasks, and thinking of ways to eliminate repetitive tasks. In this article, we look at eight ways of refining your daily experience in Microsoft Word 2016. Customize the Ribbon One way to increase your productivity is to set up your programs with the settings you use most. Being able to customize the ribbon — or row of icons and customizable options at the top of the application — is a good place to begin. For example: in Word 2016, you can find and customize the ribbon the Quick Access Toolbar. Go to File: Options. In the Word Options dialog box, click on Quick Access Toolbar. You can then select the formatting options you use the most. Increase Security by Disabling Macros As useful as Word is, it’s also the target of ransomware authors who use macros to sneak malevolent programs on to your computer. If you’re genuinely worried about this, disable all macros so they don’t launch if you are foolish enough to download and open a Word … Read More »

Has your Windows 7 Start menu become too disorganized? Then let’s organize it. Your Windows 7 Start menu can get messy. The more applications you install, the more folders and shortcuts that squeeze into the menu. At some point, the menu just becomes too crowded and cluttered to easily navigate. Can you clean up and streamline the Windows 7 Start menu so it’s better organized? Yep, you can, and you have a couple of options: You can access the menu directly to move or delete shortcuts and rename folders. You can tap into your Start menu Programs folder from Windows Explorer. You can create and delete folders and more easily move shortcuts from one folder to another. Let’s see how we can clean up your Start menu. But before we do, a look at how the Windows 7 Start menu gets so disorganized. Every application you install sets up its own shortcut and in many cases its own folder, even if to store just a single shortcut. As you install more and more applications, your menu gets filled with more and more shortcuts and folders, sometimes with names that don’t have much meaning. For example, a Start menu folder may … Read More »

While Microsoft is preparing the next update to Windows 10, you might want to see if your current machine is ready for Version 1703, also known as the Creators Update. Downloading the ISO The first step to check to see if your machine is ready for theCreators Update is to actually download the ISO onto your computer or flash drive. It’s relatively easy to download the ISO: First off go to the web page and click on download tool now to install the download tool on your computer. Once it’s installed, accepted the end user license agreement and then choose to create installation media. You can then choose to prepare a usb flash drive or an ISO. Once the ISO is downloaded, click on it to mount the iso. Now comes the fun part where we run a routine to test the install before actually installing the Creators Update. Browse to the drive letter that the iso has been mounted at. In my case it mounted as an E: drive. To check to see if your system is ready for 1703, launch a command prompt and type in setup.exe /Compat scanonly. Note this will not install Windows 10 1703, merely … Read More »

You can split, merge, and otherwise manage your partitions in Windows via the Disk Management tool. Your Windows PC may have come with one hard drive and partition or it may have come with a couple of drives and partitions. No matter the original configuration, you may want to manage and modify your disk drive arrangement. Maybe you’d like to create an extra partition to install and run another operating system. Perhaps you want two partitions to separate your personal files from your Windows system files. Or maybe you already have two partitions and now want to remove one of them. You can do all this through the built-in Windows Disk Management tool. Available in all the current and most of the past versions of Windows, Disk Management lets you shrink, create, and delete your partitions. You already know a hard disk is a single physical drive: it’s either a conventional mechanical drive that magnetically stores your data on platters, or a solid-state drive that houses your data on flash memory chips. Computers usually come with a single hard drive, though you can always add a second one. Most vendors offer an option to outfit a desktop with two mechanical … Read More »

Q. Can I run more than one anti-virus/malware scanner on my Windows system? A. Can you? Yes. Should you? It depends. Everything you install on your Windows-based system take up resources. Everything that runs on your system, either actively or in the background, also take up system resources. The CPU, memory, and hard drive space on your device are commodities and they have physical limitations. All of this comes into play when answering the question about having multiple anti-virus/malware scanners installed on your device. Before we get into the question of “How many anti-virus scanners should you have?” let’s make sure we all understand one truth: You should have at least one anti-virus/malware scanner on your system that performs real-time scanning of files, downloads, and other activity on your device to prevent any infections from occurring. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

It’s not that I am lazy but I do like shortcuts that will speed up launching tasks. Many of the shortcuts are not routinely documented. In fact, to find them on Microsoft’s website can take more drill downs than finding oil in the ground. As I have found shortcuts in Windows 7 to 10, I have kept a list of my favorites – the ones I ended up using most often. I don’t want to come across as long-winded about shortcuts, so here’s my top 7 for cutting to the chase in Windows 7 and 10. How to Adjust Window Size In many apps you can magnify or decrease the size of image or text by moving the mouse scroll wheel forward or back while holding down the Control (CTRL) key on the keyboard. If you have other windows open they will not change, only the current active window adjusts accordingly. It is also possible to change the size of the display in some app windows by holding down the Control key and pressing the plus and minus keys on the number keypad. Where this will not work is with apps such as word processing and spreadsheets which use process these … Read More »

Need to migrate your documents, files, and other personal stuff from a Windows 7 computer to one running Windows 10? Here’s how. Do you have a brand new computer running Windows 10? Cool, but what about your old computer, possibly a Windows 7 PC? Maybe there are specific personal files and settings that you want to transfer from your old computer to your new one. With Windows 7 on both ends, you could’ve used the built-in Windows Easy Transfer tool, which migrates your entire user profile and all its files and settings. But Windows 10 doesn’t support Easy Transfer. (Thanks Microsoft!) So what are your options? Microsoft offers a free utility called the User State Migration Tool (USMT). However, USMT is a command-line utility designed for IT professionals and isn’t very user friendly. A few developers make graphical interfaces for the USMT, which you can try. But you may find a third-party utility the easiest way to migrate your profile. Zinstall Easy Transfer is one such migration program, though it’ll cost you $59. Another is EaseUS Todo PCTrans Pro with a price tag of $49.95. A more affordable option is Laplink’s PCMover Express. PCMover Express normally sells for $29.95 but … Read More »

The recent ransomware attacks have had a inadvertent side effect at my home and office: It has pointed out to me how much I’m still dependent on Server Message Block v1 (SMB v1). Microsoft’s workaround for the recent ransomware attacks have recommended the following workaround as noted in KB2696547: disabling SMB v1, and leaving SMB v2 and SMB v3 alone unless you need to troubleshoot your security settings. As noted in a September 2016 blog post, SMB v1 is a 30 year old protocol that has seen better days. The recent ransomware attacks using this protocol to amplify their mayhem have some security researchers still unsure of exactly how the initial attack vector took place. It’s unclear at this time if this ransomware came through targeted email attacks (like many other ransomware attacks), or, if this was a unique attack that possibly infected a workstation, which then brought the attack into the impacted networks through some network access point previously used to bring in other worm like attacks. While it’s unclear how the initial infection started out, it’s clear that once the infection got into the network, it relied on vulnerabilities in SMB v1 to basically run rampant through the network. This is why so … Read More »

How can you clear up the clutter in your Outlook email folders? Here are some tips and tricks. Are your Microsoft Outlook email folders overflowing with hundreds or thousands of unorganized messages? Are you unsure what to do with a new email when it arrives, thereby cluttering up your inbox? That’s a common malady, but one for which there is a remedy, or rather several remedies. By following some helpful tips and tricks, you can make your Outlook inbox much more manageable. In this article, we’ll review the following skills: You can create Quick Steps that can put new email in the right folders at the click of a button. You can create rules that determine what happens with a new email based on subject line, sender, and other criteria. You can clean up a conversation thread so that extraneous and redundant messages are deleted or moved. You can archive your older messages so they’re forgotten but not gone. Let’s look at each of the tips and tricks to see how you can better organize your mail in Microsoft Outlook. A Quick Note: When I say Microsoft Outlook, I’m talking about the full email client that’s part of Microsoft Office, not … Read More »

Microsoft is still slowly releasing the Creators update, and the WannaCry Ransomware is pointing out that some people don’t patch well. We finish the month with the optional preview updates that will come out next month. Have You Received the Creators update yet? I feel like a little kid in the back of the car jumping up and down and pestering Mom and Dad asking them if we are at our destination yet. On a test laptop I have here at home, I am still awaiting the Creators update. It has yet to be installed on my relatively new Lenovo Thinkpad laptop. I’ve already been tracking a few known issues such as Network printers failing due to machines having less than 4 GBs of memory. There’s also a known issue when certain antivirus is installed while the creator’s update is installed as noted in the Answers forum. To work around this issue, make sure you update the antivirus or remove it and reinstall it. Because the Creators Update is heavily reliant on 3D and video enhancements, I’m seeing that video drivers are the key item that may need to be updated. In fact a known issue with Nvidia video drivers, as noted in the … Read More »

Ransomware was once again in the news. This time it was due to WannaCry, an attack that stretched across 150 countries and nearly 57,000 countries. The attackers used a Windows vulnerability only recently patched (March 2017), formerly used by the National Security Agency to secretly take control of computers. Determine If You Are Protected First off, check and make sure you are protected. If you are running Windows 10, click on Start, then Settings, click on Windows Update, click on Update History. If you have installed either the May 2017, April 2017 or March 2017 cumulative update for any of the Windows 10 that is in the market today, you are protected. If you are running Windows 7, click on Start, then Control Panel, then on Windows Update. Now click on View Update History. Scroll down and look for either March 2017, April 2017 or May 2017 updates to have been installed on your machine. If any of these monthly rollups have been installed, you are protected from this vulnerability. What If You’re Running Windows XP and Server 2003? For businesses still running XP in critical locations that did not have a custom support agreement from Microsoft, this attack brought them to their knees. … Read More »

The WannaCry ransomware attack made massive headlines, and with good reason. But who’s to blame? As I see it, four separate entities caused the disasters: the criminal hackers, Microsoft, the NSA, and the victims. If any one of them had acted as they should have, the disaster would never have happened. Appearing on Friday, May 12, WannaCry – also known as WannaCrypt, WanaCryt0r, and Wanna Decryptor – infected nearly a quarter million computers in a very short time. And it didn’t just hit hapless users in one or two countries. Victims included Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), FedEx, and Deutsche Bahn. According to Wikipedia, the worst-hit countries were Russia, Ukraine, India and Taiwan. Let’s take a look at all four of the culprits, and one important hero. Culprit #1: The Hackers These are the culprits who belong in prison. They’re criminals, using their computer skills to extort money from people and organizations. Like all forms of ransomware, WannaCry is basically an extortion racket. When the malware infects a computer, it encrypts all data that it finds. Then it pops up a message demanding a ransom payment in untraceable bitcoin. If you don’t pay up in time, you lose family photos, business records, … Read More »

Yes, you can refresh or restore Windows 7 if you bump into problems. Here’s how. Having difficulty with your Windows PC to the point where the OS itself isn’t behaving. Windows 8.1 and 10 offer options to refresh or reset your PC, which can usually clear up even the most vexing problems. But what if you’re still running Windows 7? There is no similar refresh or reset option. Are you out of luck? No, not if you’ve taken the necessary precautions. Windows 7 offers a System Restore option, which can return your PC back to an earlier point in time before the trouble occurred. What if you can’t even boot up your PC? Windows 7 also provides its own Backup & Restore feature. Through this feature, you can create a startup and repair disc that boots up your PC if Windows 7 becomes unbootable. And by applying a system image from a disc or USB drive, you can restore Windows 7 back to its full glory. Let’s go over the steps for using the Windows 7 System Restore and Backup & Restore features. System Restore A system restore is a snapshot in time of your existing Windows environment. Windows itself … Read More »

Considering Microsoft released the first version of Windows 7 in October, 2009 and its first and last Service Pack (#1) the following March, this OS can be considered, shall we say, mature. But the old boy still has plenty of kick left and Microsoft will not abandoned its support for it until January 14, 2020. While Windows 10 is generally considered more secure due to its better architecture and continuous updates, the reason many people stay on 7 is its less cluttered and frankly easier to use Desktop, well-supported hardware drivers, and lower memory and power requirements. And, hey, with properly maintained security software, 7 is still safe without the Microsoft-imposed, mandatory updates in Windows 10. With all the hype and push to Windows 10, you might think that you can’t still purchase a Windows 7 laptop or desktop. If you try at a brick and mortar retailer this is true. But online there are actually multiple choices. Both HP [site] and Dell [site] continue to do a brisk sales with Windows 7 Professional systems. The trick to finding them is to search their sites for business products. Many companies, quite happy with their existing Windows 7 PCs are still … Read More »

For those of you with Intel processors, it’s time to see if you are vulnerable. Meanwhile we’re business as usual for Windows updates and Flash updates. And if you use Microsoft’s native antivirus protection, be sure that you’ve received the latest engine update to fix a critical flaw. Intel’s Processors May Need Fixing Intel’s processors are vulnerable to a flaw in Intel’s Active management technology, Small Business Technology or Intel Standard Manageability software, and although I read that this “did not impact consumer PCs” I honestly ignored the warnings: “I follow security best practices. This can’t impact my workstations.” And then I used the Intel Detection Tool and determined that many of my workstations – especially in my office – did have the vulnerable code in my systems. So much for best security practices! Fortunately, while I may have the vulnerable code, the Active management technology is and was not ever enabled, and I don’t have it set to be accessible from outside of my office. Thus I am not vulnerable to attack even though I may have the vulnerable code on my system. Nevertheless, I recommend that you scan your own system and see if it can detect what chipset you have and … Read More »

Yes, you can set up OneDrive in Windows 7, though you’ll have to go through a few steps to get it cooking. Microsoft’s OneDrive is baked into Windows 10. You’re asked to set up the online service during the Windows 10 installation, and the OneDrive program is already accessible if you want to make any changes. That’s fine, but what if you’re still running Windows 7 and you want to tap into OneDrive to store and sync your files in the cloud? Then you’ve got to go through the steps to set up a Microsoft account and download, install, and tune up the OneDrive software. How can you set up and use OneDrive in Windows 7? Let’s go through the process. First, here are some details on OneDrive. With a OneDrive account, you get 5 gigabytes of online storage space for free. For $1.99 a month, you can boost that amount by ten times to 50GB. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you’re granted a total of 1 terabyte of space per user. And what exactly do you do with all that space? OneDrive serves as a backup service. You can back up documents, photos, and other types of files … Read More »

Yes, Windows offers its own built-in troubleshooters. Here’s how to tap into them. Oops, you’re bumping into trouble with Windows. Maybe you can’t connect to the Internet. Perhaps your audio has stopped working. Maybe your PC is blue screening. Or perhaps you’re not sure of the cause of the problem but just know that your PC is acting funky. Where can you turn for help? You can turn to Windows itself. The OS offers its own built-in set of troubleshooting tools designed to scan for, analyze, and hopefully fix specific problems. The troubleshooters are available in Windows 10, 8.1, and 7. But whatever your flavor of Windows, the troubleshooters are usually a good first step when you’re bothered by a persistent problem. In some cases, a Windows troubleshooter will pop up automatically if you experience a glitch in Windows. For instance, if an application crashes or your screen display suddenly goes on the fritz, then the appropriate troubleshooter may appear to try to save the day. In other cases, you’ll have to manually trigger the right troubleshooter depending on the nature of the problem. Or if you’re not sure what’s causing trouble, you can run through the entire array of … Read More »

If you’re like me (and a whole lot of other people), you have Android as your mobile operating system and Windows as your desktop OS. In fact, recent stats show Android is the dominant operating system for getting online — 38%, edging out Windows by 1%. And that’s with Windows still commanding the leading place in desktop operating systems, with an estimated 84% of all desktop PCs running Windows. So you’re a mixed-OS household, using both Android and Windows. You need access to your files, your notes, your photos, and even your music on both devices. But sharing all this information between two very different machines with two seemingly incompatible operating systems can be tricky. Here are five ways you can get Android and Windows 10 cooperating nicely. One caveat: There are a lot of versions of Android around, and they all behave differently. Your phone may not behave exactly like mine, but it should be close. For what it’s worth, I have a Nexus 6P running on Android Nougat 7.1.2. Cooperative Tactic #1: Transfer Files Via the Cloud Somewhere along the line, some genius at Google decided to discourage transferring files from computer to phone via cable. You must find … Read More »

I wanted to look at which consumer versions of Windows are currently supported. It is very important to understand when the operating system you are currently using will no longer receive updates of any kind. That will give you an idea of when you need to decide on migrating to a newer version of Windows in order to stay up to date and supported. However, first let me explain the two five year support cycles Microsoft uses with its operating system. Cycle One: Mainstream Support: Mainstream Support is the first phase of the product lifecycle. At the supported service pack level, Mainstream Support for products and services includes: Incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims) Security update support The ability to request nonsecurity updates This support cycle lasts for a minimum of five years. Cycle Two: Extended Support: The Extended Support phase follows Mainstream Support for business, developer, and desktop operating system products. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

You can connect to another PC or let someone connect to your PC to troubleshoot a problem. Do you play the role of tech support for your family and friends, trying to help them when they have a problem in Windows? Or do you sometimes bump into trouble on your own PC and need to rely on someone else to help you through it? Either way, one handy feature you can use in any version of Windows from XP to 10 is Remote Assistance. Through Remote Assistance, you can connect to someone else’s PC (with that person’s permission, of course) and you can allow connections to your own computer. The goal is to let you or another person connect to another PC in an attempt to diagnose and fix whatever is troubling it. But since Remote Assistance requires the permission of the PC’s owner, it’s a safer option to use over the standard Windows Remote Desktop feature. Let’s go over how to set up and use Remote Assistance. First, sign into the computer on which you want to allow Remote Assistance connections. Open Control Panel. Type the word remote in the search field in the upper right corner. From the … Read More »

Don’t throw in the towel just because your Windows PC has gotten slow. Here are ways you can speed up its performance. Is Windows feeling a bit slow and drowsy lately? Are you constantly yelling at your computer, telling it to hurry up? Then it’s time to check your Windows setup. You’ll be able to see if something is troubling it. And — bonus! — you may be able to squeeze more speed out of it. Several factors could be causing your PC to behave more slowly. We’ll look at them and see what you can do in response. Culprit Number One: Low Disk Space Despite today’s large capacity disk drives, you may be surprised how quickly space can fill up, especially on laptops or tablets where real estate is often more limited than on a desktop. Windows needs space not just for itself and your applications and files but for a page file that’s used for swapping data between memory and your disk drive. So, Windows can get cranky if it doesn’t have enough room to play. You can check your available disk space by opening File Explorer in Windows 10 or 8.1 and Windows Explorer in prior versions. Click on … Read More »

When I mentioned to a friend that I just purchased a new Windows 10 Pro laptop, he asked how much memory did it have. I replied that it had 16GB RAM. When he retorted in shock that 16GB RAM was an awfully small hard drive, it quickly became clear that like a lot of folks he was confused between the different types of memory – the “live” Random-Access-Memory which allows data to be read or written versus the direct-access data storage such as hard disks, CDs and USB flash drives. I thought it would be a good idea to set the memory matter straight, so I wrote this backgrounder to explain the different types of memory, their use, and some of the built-in Windows features created for each of them. Unless otherwise noted, all details explained apply to all versions of Windows from Windows 7 through Windows 10. Remembering memory types won’t make you a certified geek but hopefully it will clear up the confusion of the legion of different memory types and it will help you understand the pile of sales jargon thrown at you when purchasing a new computer. Random access memory (RAM) is the workhorse of a computer, allowing … Read More »

As more and more Internet connected gadgets are introduced, our need for ever-stronger Wi-Fi connections becomes essential. Whether it is for our mobile phones and computers, the latest in smart HDTVs, networked set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, or voice-activated digital assistants like Amazon’s Echo, wired connections are so yesterday. Yet there are situations where a Ethernet cabled connection is still the best choice to achieve the fastest, uninterruptible bandwidth . So here are some new devices that show off the best of wired and wireless service. Zyxel’s PLA5236 Extends Wi-Fi Both Wired and Wirelessly My new Sony Smart HDTV was occasionally dropping its Wi-Fi signal – usually at the most suspenseful moment in the movie I was watching on Netflix. But Zyxel Communications hybrid Powerline and AC900 Wireless Extender solved not only the TV connection issues but spread my router’s wireless signal to all parts of the house and even beyond. Powered by the Home Plug AV2 and 802.11ac technologies, the geeky-named PLA5236 [site] extends powerful Internet connections by using the electrical wiring in your house as if it were actual Ethernet cabling. But unlike the other, similar powerline extenders, this devices also has a built-in Wi-Fi extender that operates separately … Read More »

The Windows 10 creator’s release is off to a slow start. But that’s a very good thing. This slow release means we’re not getting updates once a week. Windows 10 Creators Update I’m an unusual guest. Invite me for the weekend, and I often poke under the hood of any Windows 10 machine at my hosts to see how well-patched it is and if it needs any maintenance. One thing I’ve been surprised by is how slowly and carefully Microsoft is pushing out the Windows 10 Creators Update. In fact, in my anecdotal review of home PCs, I’ve come across very few that have actually received the update. Those that have received it, in fact, most have requested the update directly. It hasn’t been pushed on them. That slowness has a good side effect: We’re not getting the once a week updates that 1607 was subject to when it came out. As I said earlier, so far I’ve seen several reports and blog posts of issues with Internet access, missing Power options and issues with Logitech webcams, especially the Brio range of webcams, but nothing majorly trending that I can see. I’m still watching various locations such as reddit forums to follow what post-release issues folks … Read More »

You’ve probably seen the confusing, contradictory headlines: There was a rule that was set to go into effect by the end of the year that would require ISPs to get our approval before they used or sold our usage history, location information and browsing history. There are rules permitting ISPs to use and sell our Social Security numbers. Breaking! ISPs indicate that they already give us the option to opt in or out of the information they collect! With all this contradictory coverage, one thing is clear: privacy as a user perk — or right — is becoming big news. Given the changes and the improved disclosure that Windows 10 Creators Update is bringing to privacy options, it’s clear that it’s not just the ISPs that need to be more transparent with what they do with their collected data. We all want our vendors to tell us what they are doing and what they are collecting. I disagree with the articles and headlines that infer that ISPs can sell our Social Security numbers. In the United States, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers are considered PII or Personally Identifiable Information. This is normally an item that is legally protected — and safeguarding that data … Read More »

You can review and modify several of your security settings from one spot. Are your Windows 10 security settings as tight as they should be? How can you check to make sure? Microsoft now offers a built-in tool called the Windows Defender Security Center, courtesy of the Windows 10 Creators Update. Whether you use Windows Defender or a third-party antivirus program, you can tap into the Security Center to review and change your security settings. The feature covers several different areas of security. It checks to make sure you’re using antivirus software and gives you the option to run Windows Defender for periodic scans. It provides health reports on your security. It helps you enable and adjust the Windows firewall settings if needed. It can turn on SmartScreen to protect your system from possible malware. And it shows you how to create family accounts so the adults in your household can make sure the kids stay safe and secure. Let’s take a tour of the Windows Defender Security Center to see how you can view and adjust your settings. First, you’ll need to make sure you’ve installed the Windows 10 Creators Update. You can check this and access the Windows … Read More »

With more and more of my household devices needing wi-fi, I needed a better way to provide wi-fi in my house. After trying several solutions I decided on Mesh technology Needing Wi-Fi All Over the House It all started last year during the drought in California: I wanted to better control my sprinkler system, and to better manage the amount of water I used at my house. I went through several steps to solve this problem. First, I went looking for devices that would be smarter at using water: devices that would alert me when plants needed water so I could only water when the plants really needed the drink. I found several watering systems that fit the bill, but all of them had a slight problem: they needed wi-fi in an area of the house that normally have wi-fi coverage: the garage in the front of my house. So I tried to solve this problem with additional repeater devices that would broadcast the wi-fi signal to various locations in the house. I found that these repeater devices often would need rebooting, and were not often self-fixing when they failed. I spent too much time walking all over the house, unplugging and replugging in … Read More »

You can turn to free third-party tools to control your privacy in Windows 10. Microsoft offers you a few ways to take charge of your privacy in Windows 10. There’s the Privacy page under Windows 10 Settings. There’s a new Privacy dashboard. But you may find it more useful and effective to tap into a free third-party utility. These tools can help you view and manage all or most of your privacy settings in one shot, so you can control what information is collected by Microsoft in Windows 10. Such programs include Blackbird, O&O ShutUp10, and Privacy Repairer. By default, Microsoft collects certain information about your use of Windows 10, Edge, Cortana, and other features and applications. In most cases, that data is used to help personalize your experiences in Windows and other software and improve the performance of Microsoft products. But it’s still in your best interest to review the data being gathered and decide what tidbits Microsoft can collect about your use of its products and what you want to keep private. Let’s look at the three free third-party privacy tools to see how each one can help you regulate your privacy. Blackbird This article is part of … Read More »

If you work a lot with spreadsheets, you know how difficult they can be once you get beyond simple tables and equations. And you know that data entry can be boring beyond belief. The more complex the table, the more confusing it is to evaluate. Shouldn’t there be quicker and easier way to do some of these tasks? Microsoft Excel has a lot of nifty shortcuts that can help relieve the tedium of data entry and provide clarity with complex tables. Here are six features built into Excel 2016 that can ease creating spreadsheets and understanding the ones you (and other people) create. And after those six, I’ll treat you to 20 keyboard shortcuts that – if you can memorize them – will make your jobs lighter. Some of these tricks will be found in earlier versions of Excel; others are exclusive to Excel 2016. Remember that if you subscribe to Office 365, you currently have Excel 2016. Tell Me What You Want To Do Do you always remember how to create a pie chart, freeze the left-hand column, or name a range? I didn’t think so. Excel’s “Tell me what you want to do” can help you complete a chore even … Read More »

Not fully happy with the Windows 10 Start menu? You may want to try out a Start menu alternative. The Window 10 Start menu is a welcome addition for those of us who missed the menu in Windows 8 and 8.1. But it may not be the perfect solution for everyone. The new Start menu marries the traditional column of applications with the tiled approach of the Start screen. Those of you not too crazy about tiles might not care for this arrangement. Sure, you can unpin all the tiles from the Start menu but then you’re limited to just the single All Apps column, which doesn’t seem ideal either. Further, the Start menu’s All Apps list contains folders or shortcuts for every single program you install. That approach can easily lead to a long and crowded list of apps that becomes cumbersome to navigate. Yes, you can edit and rearrange the Windows 10 Start menu to some degree by opening the Programs folder in File Explorer. From there you can create and delete folders and move shortcuts into other folders. But you can’t create subfolders and you can’t move Windows 10 apps into folders. Okay, so let’s say you’re … Read More »

“I hate printers, but I love what they can do!” That’s the mantra recited by just about anyone who has a printer attached to their computer. Of all the peripherals that connect to our PCs printers seem to be the number one troublemaker. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Paper jams, overpriced ink, print spooler logjams, wasted paper – these are just a few of the hassles whose remedies will be addressed here. If your love/hate relationship with your printer is more hate than love, read on as maybe, just maybe, we can switch that around with these eight printer tips and tricks. How to Print With an ‘Empty’ Inkjet Cartridge When my six page document stopped printing after page three, the reason was an empty blue ink cartridge. I was surprised since I hardly ever print in color and in fact generally print in draft mode with black ink only. So why the hell did the blue ink disappear? The answer is relatively simple and applies to almost all brands of inkjet printers. You are probably well aware of the mechanical noise the printer makes each time you turn it on or right before it processes a print … Read More »

You can add and maintain more than one email account in Microsoft Outlook and easily bounce from one to another. Here’s how. Do you use Microsoft Outlook but have more than one email account? Instead of separately checking your messages from your primary account and your Gmail account and any other mail accounts, you can add them all to Outlook and access each one from the same application. The process of adding multiple accounts isn’t difficult, and once you’ve set them up, you then have a single spot in which you can check all your email. I set up my primary email account, my Gmail account, and an account for one of my clients all under the umbrella of Outlook. That gives me easy access to all my email and allows me to use Outlook’s robust, built-in features with each account. Let’s say you haven’t yet configured Microsoft Outlook with any accounts. Open Outlook. Click Next to get past the intro screen. Then answer Yes to the question: Do you want to set up Outlook to connect to an email account? Next choose the option for Manual setup or additional server types. Outlook asks if you want to use an … Read More »

The Creators Update release for Windows 10 is right around the corner. Before it is available to the general public, there are a couple of steps you (and I) need to take to prepare our computers for the release. Let’s walk through them together. The first step is to take stock of of your system. Look back over the past several months of installing updates. Has your computer had any issues installing prior updates?  Have you had issues installing any of the Windows 10 patches? Have there been any consistent error messages you received? Have you been unable to install a previous update? If any of these things have occurred, you need to review why your machine is not successfully installing updates, then fix that problem before considering installing the Creators Update. Windows 10 has a lengthy list of update errors and ways to work through them and fix them. There is one more tip I’d like to recommend before the feature release comes out: Review your choice of antivirus software. Some of the very software that is there to protect us can lead to issues when installing updates. Computer security should be a top priority, so this is why I still believe that feature … Read More »

In the pre-Windows 10 days, the general consensus was that you did not upgrade to a newer edition of Windows until the first Service Pack was being made available. That first year let you listen to other people’s horror stories and evaluate whether or not you really wanted to upgrade. But what do you do with Windows 10, since it is supported with monthly cumulative updates and bi-annual feature updates? The Windows as a Service (WaaS) method of maintaining Windows 10 has been a learning experience for both Microsoft and its users, because it is so different to what we are used to with the normal annual Service Pack. Now that we’ve had nearly two years to assess how Windows as a Service is working, does it still make any sense to avoid upgrading and avoid the WaaS experience? WaaS has hit a few bumps in the road with updates that break things. And yes, one entire month’s Patch Tuesday was postponed for a reason that remains unknown to the general public. And WaaW introduces new glitches: last year, with the release of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, nobody knew the update would break popular webcams and Kindles until users began installing it. Ten million Windows Insiders … Read More »

Here are some ways you can resuscitate your Windows 10 PC should it ever appear to kick the bucket. You just set up a new Windows 10 computer. You’ve installed all your applications and have placed all your documents and other files in the proper folders. But what would happen if your hard drive crashed or Windows became unstable and inaccessible, and you couldn’t retrieve your applications or files? Well, before such an event potentially occurs, there are steps you can take to prepare your Windows 10 PC to survive a disaster. Using the System Image Backup tool, you can create an image file of your computer that can be restored if your Windows environment goes kaput. Using the System Repair Disc feature, you can create a bootable disc to use if Windows itself ever becomes unbootable. And using File History, you can back up your key documents and other files to an external source where you can recover them if the originals ever get lost or corrupted. Let’s look at each of these Windows saving features. System Image Backup This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

We’re still following some post patching issues that cropped up after the March patches were released. Some, like the interaction with CRM 2011, have been fixed. Others impacting Outlook 2016 searching need a rollback. March Office Click-to-Run Causing Issues For those with Outlook 2016 and click to run (retail)installations, you will probably note that searching in Outlook is broken after the March click to run release. At this time there is no other workaround other than to roll back to a prior version of Office click to run. As noted on the Microsoft forum this is a known issue as noted by a Microsoft staff. If you connect to a POP account or you are searching PSTs there is a bug in the latest updates. To roll back to a prior release do the following steps: Open a command prompt and run the following commands in order: cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.7571.2109 Open Outlook and click File, Office Account and set Update Options to Disable Updates Add an appointment on your calendar for a month or more out to remind you to re-enable updates. What to do: Roll back to a prior release if you are impacted. … Read More »

Every file and folder on your computer possesses digital DNA – file format, creation date, author, modification date, descriptive tags, etc. These inner attributes follow a file and folder. It doesn’t matter where it moves on your system, or whether it’s copied and forwarded elsewhere — those attributes are coming along with it. The attributes are stored in each file or folder’s Property Manager; that can be accessed by right-clicking on the file name or its icon. Most of time we have no need to examine a file or folder’s properties. But when viewing or editing attributes are required –be it for security or personal reasons– that’s when we need to be our own property manager. Metadata: Exploring the Inner Workings of Files If Groucho Marx was to jokingly refer to metadata he would probably exclaim “I never metadata I didn’t like,” or something like that. But seriously, metadata is usually defined as the data that provides information about other data. In other words metadata is the instruction manual that tells a computer what’s up with a particular file. When security cops are called in to examine, say, a politician’s deleted emails, they can actually glean the origins of the message, … Read More »

You can adjust and strengthen Windows 10 security settings through Group Policy. Here’s how. You want to tighten the security features and policies in Windows 10 but you’re not sure where to go. Well, there is a Settings screen where you can enable or disable several privacy settings. But if you want to manage and maintain the security settings in the OS, one method is through the Group Policy Editor. Using this tool, you can control settings for anyone who uses the same computer. You’ll find settings for password length and complexity, the account lockout policy, the Windows firewall, and the audit policies. Though Group Policy is typically used in an organization, it can also be recruited to tweak settings on an individual computer, whether that PC is used by one person or by multiple people in a home or small office. The local security policies for Windows 10 are contained in a Group Policy snap-in called secpol.msc. By opening this snap-in in your Group Policy Editor, you can tweak each individual setting. This gives you the power to set security policy for any Windows 10 computer in your home or office. Anyone who logs into a computer for which … Read More »

Personal computers make our lives easier. Typos fix themselves and numbers recalculate as you change individual figures to be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided. But PCs never really seem as easy as they should. Here are eight small programs, most of them free, that simplify common tasks and ease your burden. You probably won’t want all of them, but some will almost certainly be useful. None of these utilities come with potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) hiding in their installation routines. Install any of these, and you’ll only get the programs you want. Just remember: A few choice tools can ease the chores. But too many tools can slow down Windows. Pick the tools that seem most useful to you, personally, and let the others slide. Remove Formatting Quickly and Easily with PureText We all copy and paste text from one place to another, and when we do, the formatted text appears in its new location. But sometimes, you don’t want the italics, the special font, or the link; you just want the text. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

You can use a password manager to generate, store, and apply your website passwords. Here’s how to set one up for each browser and device you use. Managing the passwords for all your websites is a challenge. Not only are you supposed to come up with a complex password that can’t easily be guessed or hacked. But you’re supposed to employ a different password for each website you use. Some require both upper- and lowercase letters, others require that plus a number and a special character, some grade your password on degree of difficulty to crack, forcing you to break away from any tricks you’ve used to generate passwords you can remember. And now, we all live in a world where we are hitting the same websites and services across a broad array of devices, from desktop computers to mobile phones.  You’ll want to manage your passwords on all your web browsers on all your devices. And you’ll want to sync your website passwords across all your browsers and devices. How is all that possible? We have a two-word answer for you: password managers. Such tools can conjure up complex passwords for each website and then automatically apply those passwords every time … Read More »

The lack of patches in February means that March’s updates are numerous. Not helping the situation: While Windows 10 updates are cumulative, Office updates may not be depending on your install. Thus we are getting an extra set. It’s a lot to sort through. Microsoft finally got back to a bit of normal with this month’s release. Windows 10, 8 and 7 all received their normal large cumulative updates, most with a security bent. For Windows 10, the cumulative update also included many fixes for other issues on that platform. And in a bit of trivia only patch-a-holics like me love to keep track of, we have now jumped to Knowledge Base articles that begin with 4. For example, the Windows 10 1607 update is KB4013198. In addition we received double the amount of Office updates, but remember, if you are running any of the Office 365 versions that support click-to-run, you won’t see the masses of Office updates, you’ll merely get the click to run update dribbled to you over time. March also meant changes to Microsoft’s communication regarding security bulletins, with the all new Security Portal as the new location for security guidance and information. However, they are still … Read More »

You can rely on password managers to automatically take care of your website passwords, but there are a few hurdles you’ll have to overcome. Password managers provide an effective means of cooking up and controlling your website passwords so you don’t have to deal with the hard part of creating them, using them on the Web and — this is key — remembering them. Such tools offer several benefits, including the ability to generate complex passwords, store and remember your passwords, and automatically apply them at their respective websites. But you still need to be aware of potential snags when using a password manager. For example, you have to create and remember a complex master password that can protect all your other passwords, otherwise there’s the possibility of someone gaining access to your passwords. Your passwords are typically stored on a server maintained by the vendor, and we know that servers can be hacked. Plus, password managers are only good on the devices on which they’re installed. Use a friend’s PC or a computer at the library, and you’re stuck because you don’t have access to the passwords for your sites. How can you benefit from the pros of password managers … Read More »

Faster boot times and power downs are yours — and all you have to do is open the Control Panel System and Security menu, then configure the Power Options settings. Let’s look at them one by one. Turn off your PC with touch of a button, not a bunch of clicks Pop quiz: How many clicks does it take for you to shut down Windows? If it is any more than one, that’s a waste of clicks – and your time. Whether your PC is a desktop or a laptop, Windows Shutdown default has always been a multi-click affair. In Windows 7, you had to open the Start menu by either mouse click or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard. Then you have to click the Shutdown button. In Windows 8 to 10, it is a three click Cha-Cha-Cha: click or press Start, click Power, click Shutdown. There are a couple of ways you can optimize your computer, no matter what the version of Windows, by changing the Power settings with Power Options. With a laptop, type lid in the Start search bar. On a desktop PC, type power but in the Start search bar and select Change what the … Read More »

Last month, for the first time since Microsoft started Patch Tuesdays in the early 2000’s, the software company delayed issuing patches and updates for its software products that were scheduled to be updated on February 14, 2017. While the specific reason was not officially provided by Microsoft, according to some reports, it was either an issue with a particular patch or the system that prepares the monthly collection of updates for distribution. A couple of days later Microsoft officially announced that those patches would be rolled into the March cycle of Patch Tuesday updates and those are scheduled to arrive next Tuesday. Yet this past Tuesday, patches for Office were pushed out to users over Windows Update, so that shows the delivery mechanism itself is working fine. There are no indications from Microsoft that we should not see a normal Patch Tuesday next week. I am sure if I asked many of you about Microsoft, Windows Update, and system patches most of you would not use the word normal to describe that process. In fact, over the years there have been many issues with patches that gets issued each month. This has become an even bigger concern for end users as Microsoft … Read More »

I’m a sucker for a free software utility. I love discovering programs that can make my computing life easier. Microsoft offers an array of useful and free utilities, and some of my favorites fall under the umbrella of a group known as Windows Sysinternals. Created by Microsoft Azure Chief Technology Officer Mark Russinovich, Sysinternals consists of utilities that can enhance Windows, gather useful information, and troubleshoot specific problems. What’s cool about the Sysinternals tools is that they run the gamut from simple to complex, are well-designed, and don’t require an installation. I’ve used several of the Sysinternals tools over the years and have come up with some favorites that I think would help many Windows users. Let’s look at each tool. Autologon Windows 10 and 8.1 force you to enter your password at the sign in or lock screen as a means of security. If you’re working in an office or other public place and step away, you wouldn’t want someone to be able to access the information on your computer. But if you’re at home or another private place, entering your login credentials isn’t as necessary since no one else is around to peek at your data. In this … Read More »

Since we have been using computers, we have been looking for a way for each machine’s administrators to better control the machines and take care of them. This is how we got PowerShell: Microsoft gave admins a command line tool that would be able to automate more and more tasks, from scripting across a network to fully deploying and managing a server with no graphical user interface. Of course, with every good thing comes attackers that abuse it, and PowerShell is no exception. A recent attack that utilizes a malicious word attachment also used PowerShell commands to put a back door in the system, then used DNS TXT record queries and responses to create a bidirectional Command and Control (C2) channel. While this process is not new, the recent headline use of PowerShell has led to some question if one can block PowerShell on their machines. The first thing to know is that one truly cannot uninstall PowerShell from a system. Think of PowerShell like the DOS command line that is still hiding under the hood of the operating system: it’s a deep, embedded part of the operating system. However, that doesn’t mean you aren’t without options to better prevent the use of … Read More »

It’s a multiplatform world: You can be a Windows user on your desktop or laptop, yet still be happily carrying an iPhone or using an iPad. Now, say you use Microsoft Outlook on your Windows machine and you want to synchronize your calendar appointments in both Outlook and on your iOS device. How can you do this? Well, if you run Microsoft Outlook on the same PC on which iTunes is installed, the operation is fairly simple. You can use either iTunes or iCloud to perform the synchronization. But what if your Outlook and iTunes computers are different? For example, I run Outlook on my laptop and iTunes on my desktop. The sync procedure becomes a bit more challenging but still doable. One option is to set up a sync between your Outlook calendar and a Google calendar and then between your Google and iPhone calendars. Sounds tricky, but it works. Let’s go over the different ways you can accomplish your calendar synchronization. Sync Through iTunes This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Whether you are rooted to your home office, using your kitchen table as home base, or doing your job while on the road, keeping your computer and mobile devices fully powered is like oxygen — necessary for life. And in our increasing reliance on multiple digital devices, having multiple power outlets has become essential. Here are a couple of indispensable solutions. iClever’s BoostStrip Takes on 12 Devices At Once – Wow! With its six 3-prong electrical outlets and six USB ports, iClever’s BoostStrip Series IC-BS03 provides more than enough juice to handle our various power and charging needs. Built-in surge protection for both computers, appliances, and mobile devices makes the $26 price tag a bargain compared to other power strips on the market. But this power maven has other capabilities that make it stand out for me. Compared with ordinary power strips – you know, the kind you can get for a few bucks at Home Depot, Target, and hardware stores – this one eases the concerns of anyone who’s worried about electrical fires. It has a 1875 watts maximum load, and it’s made with fire proof materials which can handle temperatures up to over 1300 degrees Fahrenheit. This article is part … Read More »

Is Windows misbehaving on you? Freezing? Crashing? Blue screening? Problems like that can be tough to troubleshoot. They could be hardware-related. They could be software-related. How can you tell? Well, one step you can take is to run two commands in Windows to check for disk or memory issues. The chkdsk command can scan your hard drive for trouble. And the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool can scan your memory for any glitches. These tools have been around for years and are still available in Windows 10 as they still get the job done. Check for Disk Errors with Chkdsk Let’s try out the chkdsk command first. Your hard drive, whether it’s physical disk or a solid state drive, uses a file system to keep track of all its data. Sometimes that file system can become corrupted with errors that affect its performance and reliability. Your disk drive can also develop bad sectors, which are small areas of storage that take up a certain amount of space. These problems often result in unreadable files, among other problems. In both cases, the chkdsk command can reveal errors with your file system or hard disk and hopefully fix them. You can trigger the … Read More »

Are you familiar with Microsoft Sway? If not, don’t panic. It’s one of those applications that isn’t exactly a household name. Part of Microsoft Office, Sway allows you to create interactive reports, presentations, and personal stories, in a fresher visual style than PowerPoint. Students, business professionals, and everyday folks can build a presentation using text, graphics, videos, charts, maps, tweets, and other media. The software is available as a downloadable Windows app and as a component of Microsoft’s Office Online suite. So is the program worth trying? And should you bother using it when you’re already rocking PowerPoint? I used Sway to create an interactive presentation to try to answer those questions. You can snag Sway one of a few ways: You can download it as an app from the Windows Store in Windows 10, or use the online version. Both offer the same features and functionality; there is no advantage to selecting one option over the other. The downloadable app, however, is available only for Windows 10, while the online edition is accessible in prior versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and 8.1. You’re not limited to creating your Sway on a computer. You can cook a Sway up on an iPhone … Read More »

March’s updating appears to still be in limbo. No previews of February updates means a smaller expected update for Windows 7. The Patch Day That Still Wasn’t Microsoft still seems to be recovering from whatever caused them to skip releasing Office and Windows security updates on the second Tuesday of the month. Normally on the third week of the month they will release a preview of the following month’s non security updates. This time they only released the overdue Flash update that Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 machines need to be protected as Flash is embedded in that platform. Remember that Flash for Windows 7 is an independent update that comes directly from Adobe. For Windows 8.1 and 10, Flash has to come from Microsoft’s updating mechanism for those platforms. March will also mean changes to Microsoft’s communication regarding security bulletins, with all new Security Portal will be the new location for security guidance and information. What to do: Look for more changes to updating to come. Sha-1 Changes This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Your PST file contains all your Outlook email, so you need a safe and reliable way to back it up on a recurring basis. A little backtracking, for those of us who haven’t run across this term before. If you use Microsoft Outlook for your email, your PST files contain all your messages, calendar events, contacts, and other data. As the PST file is critical, you need a way to back it up on a regular basis in case something goes kerflooey with the live file. You can then always retrieve the backup, whether to locate an individual e-mail that’s been lost or deleted or to recover the entire PST file in case it gets corrupted. Outlook itself offers no way to back up the file, but you can turn to a couple of free utilities to do the work. Microsoft provides a free program called Personal Folders Backup, which sets itself up as an add-in for Outlook and can automatically back up your PST file at regular intervals. The drawback with Personal Folders Backup is that it works only with older versions of Outlook up to the 2010 edition. But no cause for worry. Those of us who run Outlook 2013 … Read More »

Last week, in part one of this two part article, I discussed the current state of affairs when it comes to Microsoft, Windows 10, and Privacy: Microsoft’s recent efforts in the upcoming Creators Update, and the first half of the 16 privacy settings categories in the operating system. Windows 10 and privacy concerns have once again garnered headlines because the European Union is concerned that the new efforts in the Creators Update do not go far enough to give users full control over their data and privacy settings in the operating system. Their biggest concerns are around the user not having more control over the default privacy settings when Windows 10 is installed or the users lack of control relating to the personal data that Microsoft collects and uses. As I explained last week in part one, Microsoft has made changes in response to privacy concerns including a new central privacy portal for everything relating to data collection and privacy plus they have established a new Privacy Dashboard to give users the ability to see what data is being collected and delete it at their discretion. It seems these efforts are not enough according to the EU: “Microsoft should clearly explain … Read More »

Here’s a morsel of what I learned about Web security at this year’s RSA Conference in San Francisco. It’s just another tale of the good, the bad, and the ugly 1.Security in Windows 10 is better than any version before it. That’s because unlike previous versions which had user customizable settings to control how your PC received updates and patches, updates in Windows 10 are by default automatic. Ostensibly this means that Microsoft is staying one step ahead of malware hackers. There’s just one problem with this assumption. Unlike the dozens and dozens of anti-malware/virus software companies which update their malware definitions 24/7, Microsoft offers its updates just once a month on its Patch Tuesday which means any Windows 10 is vulnerable to new malware for possibly a month in between. So installing third party anti-malware/virus software is probably still advisable. 2.Nothing is necessarily safe on the Web even if you have anti-malware installed because the hackers are changing their sinister codes virtually every few seconds. You read that right: every few seconds in a lousy game of digital whack-a-mole. And the bad guys are ever finding new ways to infect your system. 3. Then there’s the increasing rise of … Read More »

All other Microsoft updates are still on hold at this time, but we may see some non security preview updates for next month. While Microsoft isn’t saying anything public at this time, several reputable sources have informed me that Microsoft will release the overdue Adobe flash update for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. I will recommend that you go ahead and install this as soon as possible due to the potential for web based attacks from Flash. While Chrome is deemphasizing Chrome in recent browser releases as noted in the Chrome blog, Windows 10 and 8.1 still have flash as part of the operating system. In the creators release expected this spring, Flash will become of less importance in the operating system. Until then we need to update our browsers with any Flash update as soon as we can. It’s unclear if we’ll see any other non security preview updates for the Windows operating system on Tuesday. If you do I’ll recommend you do not install these updates at this time. Microsoft is still not releasing any security updates that we expected in February and will wait until March to do so. Keep in mind … Read More »

Recently a WordPress attack led to defaced web sites. WordPress is an easy web platform to use and one used in many attacks. Here’s why — and what you can do to protect a WordPress site. Why WordPress Is Attacked WordPress is a very powerful platform. It makes it easy for novices and non web developers to build their own customizable web sites that are easily updated and very social. But that ease of use can also mean ease of being used in attacks. The core of WordPress is augmented by any number of third party plug ins and thus to patch and maintain WordPress sites can be pretty tricky. Recently, several security issues caused many sites to be defaced. The update, released on January 26th, fixed several issues the worst of which caused an “unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability was discovered in a REST API endpoint.” The bottom line? Attackers could take control of a site and post whatever content they wanted. As soon as the patch was released, sites came under attack. So why didn’t all of us running WordPress sites immediately update? Well, for the same reason we don’t immediately update Windows patches – we fear new releases will … Read More »

Here’s the challenge: You use both Microsoft Outlook and Google for your calendar appointments, and you need a way to keep both of them in sync. Google once offered a free utility to sync your Gmail calendar with your Outlook calendar, but that tool has since bit the dust. So does that mean you’re out of luck? Nope — you can accomplish the same trick with help from a couple of third-party utilities. One free tool called Outlook Google Calendar Sync can keep your Outlook and Google calendars on the same path. Another utility known as Calendar Sync can also synchronize both calendars. Before we look at both tools, let’s just clarify one item. When I say Outlook, I’m not talking about the Outlook.com email service; I’m referring to the full version of the Microsoft Outlook email client that comes with Microsoft Office. Outlook currently is part of Office 2016 and Office 365. I’ve run Outlook for years and currently use the 2016 version through an Office 365 subscription. I also use Google for Gmail, as well as for my calendar appointments and contacts. So I’ve always needed a way to keep my Outlook and Google calendars in sync. In … Read More »

Even before Windows 10 first became available back in 2015, concerns about privacy and the operating system have gotten play on different tech sites and in forum comments. Initially, it seemed as if Microsoft avoided addressing those concerns and stayed quiet, choosing not to get specific about privacy on their new OS. This, of course, ramped up users’ concerns and it was up to Microsoft to work on addressing those concerns. That resulted in Microsoft creating a new, extensive privacy portal that contained a statement from CEO Satya Nadella, as well as information about the data Microsoft collects. Microsoft’s privacy approach is based on six principles as laid out by Satya Nadella in his letter about privacy: Control – We will put you in control of your privacy with easy-to-use tools and clear choices. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

In a very unusual move for Microsoft, they held off on releasing updates on Tuesday, February 14th. As noted in their MSRC blog, something happened to cause them to hold off on releasing updates on Patch Tuesday. There was no word if the underlying problem was due to something in the updates or something in the delivery service. Not only were there no Operating system updates released, there were no Office security updates released as well. As a result of this very unusual move, this will be a very abbreviated Patch Watch column for this week. If the updates come out between now and when this newsletter gets sent to you, I’ll be recommending that you hold off on updating just until we get more information as to what the root problem was. For those still suffering from the Windows 10 1607 bug that causes the workstation to hesitate when making new folders on file servers, as noted in this blog post, the good news the fix is in a hotfix available via the Microsoft catalog site. The bad news is the fix was supposed to be in Tuesday’s releases which got delayed. If you go to the catalog site, … Read More »

What a week for security news! Microsoft did not provide its usual Patch Tuesday update today, citing “a last minute issue that could impact some customers and was not resolved in time for our planned updates today,” and not posting an expected date for the latest security updates. And RSA 2017 is taking place in San Francisco this week. I was at Microsoft president and chief legal counsel Brad Smith’s keynote speech this morning, where he made the salient — if unsettling — point that the rise of nation-state hacking has put private citizens at risk in so many ways, from email phishing to utility grid shutdown, and as of right now, the first line of defense civilians have against nation-state hacking comes from the tech industry. Smith is calling for the tech industry to stand together and recognize that global cyber warfare is not only bad for nations, it’s bad for business and bad for users. He sees tech companies as becoming “an industry that, even in an age of nationalism, is a neutral digital Switzerland upon which everyone can rely.” He also outlined the argument that there needs to be a new Geneva Convention, one which addresses state-sponsored hacking … Read More »

Not a day goes by that I don’t see some sort of scam or attack. Awareness of the latest scams it key to staying safe — here are some new scams you should be aware of. Ransomware’d Printers The latest in ransomware techniques is to target vulnerable printers inside networks. As noted in a recent article, the attack takes advantage of a network if port 9100 is open. While in a small network behind a router provided by your Internet Service provider, the chances are small that port 9100 will be open if you’d like to make sure you can perform the following steps. From a computer inside your network go to the ShieldsUP website. Click on proceed to begin the process In the box, enter 9100 Click on user specified custom port probe The test will indicate if the port is open or closed. Chances are very good that the port will be closed. If so, you will not be at risk to this attack from external sources. However, I have seen several firms impacted by this attack because the malware entered into the network into a workstation and was able to attack vulnerable printers. In one case it … Read More »

Windows 10 comes with a couple of features built into the operating system that lets you easily install a fresh clean copy of Windows 10 to remove OEM clutter or to simply reset your current installation to resolve ongoing system issues. I previously shared with you details about the Refresh Tool for Windows 10, which downloads clean install media for your Windows 10 system, then installs a clean copy of Windows 10 without the extra OEM software and settings overlays — you know, things that can clutter up a Windows system straight out of the box. This week, I want to tell you about the other option that comes in Windows 10 called Reset this PC. This option is similar to the Refresh Tool, except it uses the installation media provided by your device manufacturer, which is normally stored on a recovery partition on your system, and it will also contain all of those OEM programs and other helper tools that are typical on most OEM systems. Call it clutter, bloatware, or junk but it is integrated into the recovery media so it gets reinstalled each and every time you reset your system back to its original out of the … Read More »

Move over, Internet Explorer: Microsoft Edge is the default browser in Windows Ten-town. Although IE is still around — the shortcut is buried in the Start menu under Windows Accessories — Microsoft clearly wants Windows 10 users to adopt Edge as their favorite new browser. After all these years, Internet Explorer has grown long in the tooth, especially compared with rival browsers such as Google Chrome. Edge is a more streamlined browser, one that dispenses with the menu bar, favorites list, and other items that clutter up the screen. But as the new kid on the block, Edge might feel alien to longtime Windows and IE users. The lack of toolbars and other familiar features can be off-putting. In some ways, Edge is also a work in progress. Whereas IE supports virtually all types of extensions and add-ons, Edge currently handles only a select few. You can still install and use Firefox and Chrome in Windows 10. However, you may just want to give Edge a whirl to see if you like it or at least can grow comfortable with it. And one way of getting comfortable is by tweaking the browser with your favorite features and options so it works the … Read More »

At my office, I’ve been rolling out Windows 10 machines to replace our older Windows 7 models. In installing these Windows 10 machines, I’ve found several tweaks and adjustments that make my machines behave more nicely and ensure I’m not bothered by apps I don’t want or need. As I’ve said before, the key thing anyone running Windows 10 Home version needs to do is upgrade to Windows 10Professional. This is the easiest step of this process. Of course, you need to purchase a Windows 10 Professional license if your machine came with Windows 10 Home version. This can be easily done from inside the system section of your Windows 10 Home machine: Merely scroll to the about section, click on change product key or upgrade your edition of Windows, and launch the wizard to upgrade to Windows 10Professional. It will take a bit of time to upgrade the computer to the professional version, and it requires a reboot. Once you have upgraded to the professional version, there are a few patching changes I’ll urge you to make. First up: Go into Settings: Update and Security, and then click on Advanced options. In this section, choose to defer feature upgrades so that … Read More »

OneDrive is Microsoft’s solution for backing up and synchronizing your folders and files both in the cloud and across all your Windows 10 devices. But OneDrive isn’t limited to Windows. You can employ it to make your files accessible across other types of devices, including your iPhone, your iPad, your iPod touch, and your Android device. Your synced files stay up to date and within easy reach no matter which device or operating system you use. So you enjoy the advantages of OneDrive via your mobile devices as well as your Windows PC or tablet. First, what do you need to do in Windows 10 to make OneDrive come to life? Well, the desktop version of OneDrive is built into Windows 10, so you don’t need to install any special software. The task of setting up OneDrive in Windows 10 is described in the Windows Secrets article “Make OneDrive Play Nice with Microsoft Office in Windows 10.” But we’ll sum it up here. In File Explorer, first move the folders you wish to back up and sync into the OneDrive folder. Then right-click on the OneDrive icon from your system tray and choose the Settings command. At the Account tab … Read More »

My old password just got a promotion. The password I used, since deleted, was ‘passw0rd’. Yeah, I thought I was being so clever making the letter o into number 0. No hacker could figure that out, right? It ends up that passw0rd was the 24th most used bad password according to SplashID.com”s worst passwords of 2015, and in 2016 it moved up six slots to number 18 on the top 25. Obviously I am one in a crowd of people creating easily guessed/hacked passwords SplashID [site]offers a free and premium password manager for major browsers so it can easily calculate the easily hacked passwords that its customers are using. Each year it releases is Worst Passwords list and the 2016 list (see below) shows that the problem with hackable passwords is us. But there are quick and easy (okay, easy is open to debate) ways to wrangle the ocean of passwords we all need to log on to the various sites we visit regularly. SplashId and a host of other password managers offer tips to wreck the hacks. So do a bevy of security experts. And so do a host of companies with free and paid security workarounds. Too Many … Read More »

Credit card numbers, Social Security Numbers, scanned passports, plans for world domination — these are only a few of the items that you may be tempted to send in an email. But unless you have encryption, you shouldn’t hit “send” on any of them. A message can pass through numerous servers on its journey and can be read on any of them. Encrypting a message can be much more complicated than encrypting a file or even a drive. There are other people involved. And they may not be as tech savvy or security conscious as you. So you need encryption that won’t confuse someone who panics at the thought of downloading a file. Another issue you need to consider: Just how much security do you need? It’s one thing to protect your information from run-of-the-mill cybercrooks. It’s another to keep your private words from the government. And remember that there is no perfect security. Even the best encryption algorithm can be cracked if someone uses a password like 123456. The goal is to find something both practical and sufficiently secure. The Weak Encryption You Probably Already Have Your messages probably already travel encrypted from your email client to your email provider’s server, … Read More »

What’s more expensive: a Windows PC or a Mac? The answer seems obvious: When you compare price tags to power and features, PCs almost always win. But when you consider costs of use as well as costs of purchase, Macs appear to be cheaper. At least that’s the conclusions found by both IBM and computer repair company RESCUECOM (website). Using a computer costs money, especially in the workplace. Long learning curves cut productivity. When an employee must figure out why their computer isn’t behaving as it should, that employee is not being productive. If he or she is forced to call IT for advice or, worse, a visit, two people are taken away from their other chores. What’s more, if employees are frustrated by the tools given to them, morale drops. According to IBM, Macs are easier to learn and cause fewer problems than Windows PCs. And according to RESCUECOM, they need fewer repairs. That’s less downtime, fewer helpdesk calls — and therefore smaller overhead. IBM’s experience Fletcher Previn, IBM’s VP of Workplace as a Service, spoke last October at the jamf Nation User Conference (webpage) and said, “Every Mac we buy is in fact continuing to make and save IBM money.” This … Read More »

You probably use Windows 10’s File Explorer a hundred times a day. You already know how to use it to move around your hard drive. Why bother to learn it better? Because you’ll work more efficiently. This truly excellent file manager has little-known tricks that makes it even more powerful and convenient. You can control what folder the program opens to. You can hide and unhide the ribbon. You can make your favorite File Explorer tools more readily available. And you can use keyboard shortcuts to make everything easier. I’m not going to tell you how to use File Explorer. I assume you already know the basics. But I’ll take you to the next level, and make File Explorer easier and faster for you. The Many Ways to Open File Explorer Of course you know how to open File Explorer. But do you know the fastest and simplest way to do it? Or how to control what folder it opens to? The fastest and easiest way to open File Explorer doesn’t involve your mouse or touchscreen. Simply press Win-E and up comes a File Explorer window. If you’re already running the program, it opens another File Explorer window. This article … Read More »

OneDrive and Office can work together as a team in Windows 10 to simplify the process of saving and syncing your documents online and across other computers. OneDrive is Microsoft’s go-to service when you want to back up folders and files in the cloud, as well as synchronize them across multiple Windows devices. OneDrive can play an especially helpful role if you’re running a recent version of Microsoft Office, such as Office 2013 or 2016. In this article we will cover how to make OneDrive and Office “play nice” in Windows 10. There are a lot of good reasons for using OneDrive and Office together. For example, you can set up OneDrive so that any Office documents you save are stored not just locally but also in OneDrive–at virtually the same time. If you don’t want to clutter up your hard drive with hundreds or thousands of documents, you can opt to store them just in OneDrive and not on your PC. If you’re collaborating on the same Office documents with other people, you can choose to be alerted whenever those documents are being editing by another person. But what if you don’t have Office? Then you can use the … Read More »

There’s no shortage of technology bloggers who are quick with “best” product badges. I make the distinction myself, calling out certain laptops, routers and other computer hardware. But it’s important to know what’s behind the “best” label. Here’s how I make the determination, based on decades of journalistic and user experience, as well as deep exploration of digital devices. I’m outlining how I devise my criteria and why, so that you can apply this sort of assessment to your own technology options. Step 1: Find Possible Review Candidates Each day, I swim through a sea of public relations pitches and new-product news releases. I go to trade shows and sit through vendor demos. And then there is my daily monitoring of the Web for new products, and my incessant visits to product retailers such as Best Buy and Costco. From all these sources, I compile and evaluate the items I think are worth checking out, and then request review samples. Most are sent as loaners, with the expectation that I will conduct hands-on testing within a certain period of time. Some products are sent to me with no expectation that they be returned. At this stage, I eliminate many products. … Read More »

Microsoft has announced that the original release of Windows 10 will fall out of support on March 26, 2017 Meanwhile, those that deferred 1607 should be seeing that update being offered up and trying to install if you have not installed it already. January’s lack of non-security updates means that February won’t have any non-security releases. NEW: Critical Update KB3211320 for Windows 10 Version 1607 On Tuesday night (January 24, 2017), Microsoft released an out-of-band patch for PCs running Windows 10 v. 1607. The Windows 10 build number will remain the same after installation. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

You need to access your Windows 10 PC, but you’re in one place and it’s in another. Perhaps you’re relaxing comfortably in your living room, iPhone or iPad in hand, but you need to view a file on the Windows 10 PC in your home office. Or maybe you need to access more than one computer at the same time and want to connect to them all from one single device.Tough luck? Not necessarily. Using Microsoft Remote Desktop and an iPhone or iPad, you can view files, open apps and control Windows 10 as if you were physically at your PC. Microsoft Remote Desktop is a simple and reliable remote control tool that can be run on an iPhone or iPad. With that said, the experience will be faster and smoother on an iPad since the iPhone is a bit too small to function as a remote control gadget. Setting up Your Remote Desktop Connection Before you install a remote control app on your Apple device, you need to set up your Windows 10 computer to accept remote connections. To do this, right-click on the Start button. From the popup menu, click on the command for Control Panel. At the … Read More »

It can happen in any Windows version: Instead of shutting down promptly, your PC stays on and unresponsive for several long minutes. Here are some easy fixes for shutdown delays. Plus: Information about HerdProtect, an anti-malware meta-scanner that employs 68 different anti-malware engines. Win10 shutdowns taking far too long Under ideal conditions, a clean Windows setup can shut down in seconds. But out here in the real world, shutdowns can take longer — sometimes, far, far longer! Some shutdown delays creep in bit by bit, accumulating over time. You can prevent this type of slowdown with good routine maintenance. (See the January 10, 2017, Best Practices, Top Story, “Start 2017 right with a clean Windows PC.”) This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

A little over seven years ago, Windows 7 was released to the general public. As of January 14, 2017, it’s been in extended support for two full years. That means there are just three years left for the popular operating system to be supported by its creator, Microsoft. It is never too early to plan for that next operating system upgrade. In fact, a Microsoft employee from Germany made that pitch this week as reported by ARS Technica, recommending that users plan their move early rather than later. If you’ll excuse a little inside baseball, here’s why you Windows 7 users should consider it. Microsoft breaks their lifecycle support down for Windows into two key periods – Mainstream and Extended support. Each period runs for five years each for a total of ten years of product support from Microsoft. The biggest difference between the two support periods? Only during the first five years can product design and feature changes be made. Security updates are provided throughout the entire ten year period. Of course, any company willing to pay can contract Microsoft to provide support beyond those ten years, but as the military learned last year, that is a very expensive … Read More »

As Microsoft releases a new Windows 10 beta, we get a patching break. Windows 8.1 in fact only has a Flash update to install. Meanwhile, Redmond has been busy with changes to the upcoming Creator’s release. Upcoming Windows 10 changes Dona Sarkar announced a beta release that makes quite a few changes to Windows update. As she noted on the blog site, the following changes are expected in the next large feature release expected around April of 2017: A feature in the GUI to pause updates for 35 days. We’ve added an option that will enable you to pause updates on your computer for up to 35 days. While this feature already exists for Windows pro and above now, it’s only available via group policy or the registry. This capability will unfortunately only be available on Professional, Education, and Enterprise editions of Windows. A feature to allow you to decide whether or not to include driver updates when you update Windows. Once again, this capability will be available on Professional, Education, and Enterprise editions of Windows. A new icon to the Windows Update Settings page to make easier to see your update status at a glance. Improvements to the logic … Read More »

Optimizing your Windows set-up is one of the most useful and productive things you can do. These quick how-tos can help you tweak your daily computing experience so it’s more convenient. Tip #1: Push your Android phone notifications to Windows 10 with Cortana An update to the Cortana app on Android now allows you to only push those notifications to your Windows 10 desktop and tablet based devices, and fully customize them just like Windows 10 Mobile users can. To get started just install the Cortana app for Android on your device from the Google Play store. Once it is installed, you can open the app and it will ask you to sign in with your Microsoft Account. Make sure you use the same one as your other Windows 10 devices if you want to sync notifications from one system to the others. Once you are logged into Cortana she will of course have access to your Notebook on your Android device and be able to set reminders, provide tips and look up other information for you. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

  A little time spent now on preventive maintenance can save hours of system troubleshooting later. It’ll also provide better computing all year long. This article is something of a Windows Secrets tradition: We update, refresh, and then publish a new version of this story in the first issue of each new year. In this iteration, you’ll find more references to top-notch, detailed PC-maintenance how-tos and related information than ever before! Undo a year’s worth of wear and tear This past year was tumultuous for Windows — and most likely for your PCs, too. To start, Windows Update released hundreds of new patches (see list), some in a new cumulative/ roll-up format. And along the way, you’ve probably installed some new third-party software, uninstalled other programs, and upgraded or patched apps and utilities. You may have also altered, tuned, and tweaked various aspects of your system’s user interface, and software and hardware settings. And you’ve undoubtedly created and deleted myriad emails, documents, photos, MP3s, videos, spreadsheets, and so forth. You might even have upgraded your Windows 8, 7, or Vista system to Windows 10. And if you were already using Win10 at the start of last year, you hopefully survived … Read More »

A dual-boot PC has 32GB of RAM, but the 32-bit Win10 partition sees only a paltry 1.6GB — far below the expected 4GB. Here’s why and a fix. Plus: Win10 steals an apps’ F1 key function, and how to stop Windows Groove — or any other default Win10 app — from automatically launching. Win10 PC has a ‘Hardware Reserved RAM” problem Reader Alvin Davis’ wonders why his 32-bit version of Win10 sees only 1.6GB of memory — on a system with 16GB of installed RAM. “I have been a Windows Secrets subscriber for a number of years. I finally have a question that I’d like to ask. “It’s about Win10 x32 assigning too much memory to ‘hardware reserved.’ “I built a computer system with a Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 motherboard, Intel 6700K processor, and MSI Geforce 1060 video card with 6GB of RAM. I also added 16GB (two 8GB sticks) of system memory. “The machine is a dual-boot system; it’ll load 64-bit Win10 from a hard drive or 32-bit Win10 from an SSD. This article is part of our premium content. Join Now.Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.