Is your PC running slowly? It could be because of all the digital clutter it has to deal with. Clutter can impede your computer’s performance and eat away at its memory. To have your computer performing at top speed again, you need to get rid of these five types of clutter. Here’s how to do Learn More “Get rid of these 5 types of PC clutter”
Microsoft only supports each version of Window for a certain period and the end of its support for a software product can be a significant challenge for businesses. Currently, Windows 7 is on “extended support” until January 14, 2020. What does it mean when Microsoft terminates support of your Windows version? Let’s have a closer Learn More “When Microsoft stops supporting Windows”
Although Windows 10 is packed with wonderful new features, it’s far from perfect. Users have complained about storage, connectivity, and update issues, among other things. If you’ve encountered any of these issues, no need to panic. We have listed down five simple fixes to the most common Windows 10 problems. 1. Less storage space When Learn More “Fix these five problems in Windows 10 now”
Windows 10 is developed as a service, and regularly receives patches and bug fixes. It also gets feature updates at least twice a year, and 2018 is no different. This October, Microsoft unveiled the October 2018 update, also known as Redstone 5, which comes with some amazing new features. Your Phone Windows 10 is getting Learn More “Cool new Windows 10 features are coming!”
Microsoft has equipped Windows 10 users with a comprehensive set of tools to get their action center settings under control. Unfortunately, most desktops come with an abundance of software and features that result in more notifications. If you’ve reached the point of oversaturation, these three tips can help you better manage your action center. Overarching Learn More “3 Tips on managing Windows 10 notifications”
Whether you want to have a darker color scheme, run several apps at the same time, or display multiple desktops, Windows 10 gives you many options to personalize your PC. And while some customization options are less obvious than others, it is worth the effort to get your Windows 10 to look and function the Learn More “7 Ways to personalize your Windows 10”
If your Windows 10 computer is starting to slow down after some time, there are ways to make it run faster without breaking the bank. The following tips will improve your computer’s performance without the need for more hardware. Prevent programs from launching at startup Windows loads several programs at startup so they’re quickly available. Learn More “4 tips to speed up your Windows 10 computer for free”
Speculation has been circulating that Windows 10 gathers more info than it should. Whether or not you think privacy lines have been breached, here are some tips to protect your privacy in a matter of clicks.
Thanks to location tracking, nearby restaurants and future weather predictions are at your fingertips. While some might not mind this feature, there are others who wish to enjoy some privacy from their smartphones every once in a while.
To turn it off, launch the Settings app, tap Privacy, and disable the Location tab. If you wish to share your location with certain apps, scroll down and activate the ‘Choose apps that can use your location’ tab and choose your desired apps.
Every time you surf the net, you leave a trail of breadcrumbs that lead directly to your online profile. This problem is easily solved by deactivating ad tracking. Windows 10, however, goes a tad further by using an advertising ID, which gathers information based on web browsing usage and whenever you use Windows 10 apps.
To take care of that, launch the Settings app, go to General, look for “Change privacy options,” then move the slider from on to off. If you want to make sure you have no virtual stalkers, head to choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out and disable the “Personalized ads whenever I use my Microsoft account” tab.
This feature is designed to let you easily share Wi-Fi connections with specific users, but hackers can misuse it to log on to your network without your permission. To disable it, launch the Setting app, go to Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > and click on Wi-Fi Sense. From there, deactivate two bars: “Connect to suggested open hotspots” and “Connect to networks shared my contacts”.
Albeit helpful, the digital assistant Cortana requires access to your personal information. But you can stop her from collecting data by logging in to your Microsoft account and clearing all the information Cortana and other Microsoft services (ex. Bing maps) have gathered.
You can also clear the information in your interests section or head over to the “interest manager” tab to edit the interests you want Cortana to track.
All of these tips are easy to follow and will take only five to ten minutes to implement, but if you like to make very detailed adjustments to your system’s privacy setup, launch the Settings app and go to Privacy.
We hope you find these five privacy protection tips helpful. If you need more help protecting your information or securing your network, give us a call.
Hot on the heels of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, also known as Redstone 4, is the highly anticipated release of Redstone 5. While no official launch date has been announced, word is that it will drop around the final quarter of 2018. What can we expect from this latest major update?
Sets takes the concept of tabs in your browsers and applies it to the whole Windows operating system (OS). It allows users to open a window with tabs for apps, files, web pages, programs, basically anything and everything.
For example: You’re working on a Word document and need to go online for research. Sets will open the web page in a tab beside your Word file. Then when you create a Powerpoint presentation for your report, it appears in a third tab. Everything connected to your Word document is neatly organized in a Set. So the next time you open your Word file, a prompt will remind you of the online article, PowerPoint presentation, and all other tabs related to your document. Microsoft explained it as “content that belongs together should stay together.”
Cloud Clipboard is shared across all your Windows 10 devices, so you can copy-paste between different devices. Cloud Clipboard also logs the things you copy, so you can refer back to them later.
The current Snipping Tool in Windows is a bit cumbersome and inconvenient for quick screenshots. Now you can press ALT + Shift + S to open the Snipping Tool from any screen. There are also new types of snips you can make:
Snipping Tool also allows you to launch the Screen Sketch app with one click, so you can immediately edit your image.
Microsoft finally added a dark theme to its File Explorer, so you won’t be blinded when you browse in the middle of the night.
Searching for files and apps from the Windows taskbar will have a wider display window to show more content and information. It also allows you to open related documents and perform related actions.
This app makes it a lot easier for iOS and Android smartphones to interact with your PC. You can send and receive SMS; and drag and drop files, photos, and more from phone to PC and vice versa.
These are just some of the reasons why there’s much ado about the upcoming release of Windows 10 Redstone 5. Get ready for more updates and new features when it launches this September or October. If you need help with anything Windows-related before then, we’re always available. Give us a call today!
Are you making the most out of your Windows 10 computer? If you haven’t tried adjusting system and battery performance, silenced notifications, or used the night light function, then you’re missing out on minor but useful features.
There are two kinds of computer users: those who value battery longevity and those who prefer optimized system performance. The Performance/Power slider in Windows 10 lets you easily toggle between the ‘Best battery life’ (when you’re trying to save battery) and the ‘Best performance’ (when you need your system to perform optimally), or set a balanced battery and system performance setting.
Just click the battery icon in the taskbar and adjust the slider based on your preference.
Those who use computers late at night can turn on Night Light to reduce the amount of blue light emitted from the screen. This feature substitutes the blue light with warmer colors, which reduces eye strain and helps you sleep easily.
Night Light is disabled by default, so you need to enable it by following these steps:
It takes only a few seconds to open a browser and type a website’s address or click Bookmarks and choose from a list of websites you frequently visit. But Windows 10 offers an even quicker way to access your go-to sites by allowing you to pin websites on the Windows 10 taskbar.
Simply click “Pin this page to the taskbar” on the Microsoft Edge menu, and the site’s icon will appear on the taskbar for easy perusal.
Need to organize your screen but can’t help having many open windows? Reduce screen clutter by dragging any window to a corner so it can take a quarter of the screen. For multiple screens, drag a window to any border and wait for the prompt that tells you to put the window in the selected corner.
Notifications can be distracting, but Windows 10’s Focus Assist feature can manage the notifications you receive from contacts and applications. This function also lets you customize the list of notifications you wish to prioritize.
To enable Focus Assist, go to:
If you wish to disable it and receive all notifications, click ‘Off.’
The features we’ve included here are just some of the many Windows 10 functions that save time and add value to business-users’ lives. For more software and productivity recommendations, give our IT consultants a call today.