Archive for the ‘Others’ category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

How to Turn On Device Encryption in Windows 10 Home

July 25th, 2020 by Admin

Although BitLocker is not available on Windows 10 Home, you can still use a similar feature called “device encryption” to protect your data from unauthorized access. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to check if your computer supports device encryption, and walk you through the steps to turn on device encryption in Windows 10 Home.

Part 1: Check if Your PC Supports Device Encryption

Device encryption is usually available on most tablets or 2-in-1 laptops running Windows 10. These are the hardware requirements for device encryption:

  • Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 or higher
  • Modern Standby support
  • UEFI firmware

The easiest way to check if your PC supports device encryption is by using the System Information tool. Follow these steps:

  1. Click the Search box in the taskbar and enter “system information”. When the results appear, select the System Information app and click on the “Run as administrator” option.

  2. At the bottom of the System Summary window, look for the “Device Encryption Support” item. If the value says Meets prerequisites, then device encryption is available on your PC.

Part 2: Turn on Device Encryption

If your PC meets the hardware requirements, you can proceed to enable device encryption on Windows 10 home by following these steps:

  1. Press the Windows key + I to launch the Settings app. Click on the Update & Security category.

  2. Select Device encryption from the left pane, and click on the Turn on button on the right side. Windows will begin encrypting all current and future files automatically.

    If you’re logged in with a local account, Windows may prompt you to convert to Microsoft online account before turning on device encryption so it can upload your recovery key to OneDrive. This can help recover your files in case you forgot Windows password.

That’s it!

Comments Off on How to Turn On Device Encryption in Windows 10 Home »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

How to Prevent Windows 10 from Downloading Feature Updates

July 14th, 2020 by Admin

How can I stop or defer Windows 10 feature updates only? Feature updates are also known as major updates that are actually a new version of Windows 10, while cumulative updates are traditional security patches we’ve known over the years. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to prevent Windows 10 from automatically downloading the next feature updates, without blocking cumulative updates.

Method 1: Prevent Windows 10 Feature Updates via Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business.

    In the right pane, double-click the “Select the target Feature Update version” policy.

  2. Select the Enabled option. Enter a version number (for example, “2004”) you want to stay on or upgrade to, and then click OK.

    If you’re running Windows 10 1909 and set the version ‘1909’, it will stop Windows 10 from installing any later version including Windows 10 v2004.

  3. When it’s done, close Local Group Policy Editor and reboot your computer.

Method 2: Prevent Windows 10 Feature Updates via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate. In the right pane, right-click the blank area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  2. Name the DWORD TargetReleaseVersion and then double-click it to set the value to 1.

  3. Use the similar way to create a string named TargetReleaseVersionInfo and set the value to the Windows 10 version number that you wish to stay on. If want to stick to Windows 10 2004 and block newer feature updates, then set it to “2004”.

  4. Close Registry Editor and restart the system to apply the changes.

Comments Off on How to Prevent Windows 10 from Downloading Feature Updates »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

How to Remove “Restore previous versions” Context Menu in Windows 10

July 13th, 2020 by Admin

When you right-click a folder or a file in File Explorer, the “Restore previous versions” option will always appear as an option in the context menu. It lets you recover old versions of your files and folders that were backed up by File History or system restore points.

If neither File History nor system restore is enabled, then there will be no old versions available for your folders and files and the “Restore previous versions” option is useless. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way to remove the “Restore previous versions” option from File Explorer’s context menu in Windows 10.

How to Remove “Restore previous versions” Context Menu in Windows 10

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions.

    Expand “Shell Extensions” and look for the subkey “Blocked“. If it doesn’t exist, you can create it by right-clicking on the “Shell Extensions” key and selecting New -> Key.

  2. While the “Blocked” subkey is selected, right-click any blank area in the right pane and select New -> String.

  3. Rename the string to “{596AB062-B4D2-4215-9F74-E9109B0A8153}” and leave its value data empty.

  4. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer. Now you’ve successfully removed the “Restore previous versions” option from File Explorer’s context menu in Windows 10.

If you decide to restore that “Restore previous versions” option in future, just delete the “{596AB062-B4D2-4215-9F74-E9109B0A8153}” string you’ve created and it’s done!

Comments Off on How to Remove “Restore previous versions” Context Menu in Windows 10 »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

How to Mute a Tab in Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox

July 10th, 2020 by Admin

When you’re surfing the web with multiple tabs open, an ad may pop up suddenly on another tab and it starts playing sound automatically. This could put yourself into embarrassing situation if you’re in public. In this tutorial we’ll show you easy ways to mute a tab in Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox.

Mute a Tab in Chrome

To mute a website in Chrome, right-click on a tab that is playing sound, and then select “Mute site” from the drop-down menu.

That tab will get muted immediately.

Mute a Tab in Microsoft Edge and Firefox

Just like Chrome, both Microsoft Edge and Firefox also offer a similar method to mute tabs individually. If you wish to mute a tab, right-click it and select the “Mute tab” option from the popup menu.

The easiest way of muting a tab is to click the small speaker icon that appears on a tab that is playing audio. Clicking the speaker icon once again will unmute the tab.

Conclusion

If you have tons of tabs opened in your Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox browser, just look for the speaker icon on every tab and you can easily find which tab is playing background audio.

Comments Off on How to Mute a Tab in Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox »

Posted in Free Software, Others, Tips & Tricks

Tags:

How to Block Video Autoplay on the New Microsoft Edge Browser

July 7th, 2020 by Admin

Is there any way to stop Microsoft Edge from automatically playing videos after page loaded? Luckily, the new Microsoft Edge browser comes with a setting called Media Autoplay, which lets users control video autoplay on websites. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to block video autoplay on the new Microsoft Edge in Windows 10.

How to Block Video Autoplay on the New Microsoft Edge

  1. Open Microsoft Edge. Type edge://flags/ into the address bar and hit Enter.

    Next, search for “Show block option in autoplay settings” and select the “Enabled” option from the drop-down menu next to the flag. Click the Restart button to relaunch Microsoft Edge.

  2. When Microsoft Edge opens up again, type the following in the address bar and press Enter.
    edge://settings/content/mediaAutoplay

    Click the drop-down list next to “Control if audio and video play automatically on sites” and you will be presented with the following options:

    • Allow: This is the default setting and a site will play videos in the foreground.
    • Limit: Restricts autoplay to only work when videos are muted, so you’re never surprised by sound. Once you click anywhere on the page, autoplay is re-enabled and will continue to be allowed within that site.
    • Block: This prevents autoplay on all sites until you interact with the media content (you need to click the play button).

    Just choose the Block option and Microsoft Edge will prevent all websites from automatically playing videos without your consent.

That’s it!

Comments Off on How to Block Video Autoplay on the New Microsoft Edge Browser »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

3 Steps to Change Currency Format in Windows 10

July 1st, 2020 by Admin

Incorrect currency showing on a website or an app? How can I change the default currency in Excel? The currency format displayed may be based on the region and currency settings in Windows. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change the default currency format in Windows 10.

How to Change Currency Format in Windows 10

  1. Open the Settings app and type currency in the Search box, then click “Change the way currency is displayed” from the result. This will open the Region window.

    Or press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. Type intl.cpl and hit Enter.

  2. Under the Formats tab, click on the Additional settings button at the bottom.

  3. When the “Customize Format” dialog box appears, select the Currency tab. Pick up your desired currency format from the “Currency symbol” drop-down list and click OK.

    If your desired currency is not shown in the list, you can open the built-in Character Map app. Look for your currency symbol and then copy & paste it into the “Currency symbol” drop-down list.

That’s it!

Comments Off on 3 Steps to Change Currency Format in Windows 10 »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

2 Ways to Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu in Windows 10

June 30th, 2020 by Admin

When you right-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop, you can choose the “Properties” option to customize Recycle Bin size or change the action of file deletion.

If you don’t allow others to access the Properties menu, you can hide or remove it. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to remove Properties from Recycle Bin context menu in Windows 10.

Method 1: Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu via Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: User Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Desktop. On the right pane, double-click on a policy called “Remove Properties from the Recycle Bin context menu“.

  2. Select the Enabled option and click OK.

  3. After restarting Windows, you’ll find the “Properties” option is missing from the context menu when you right-click the Recycle Bin desktop shortcut.

Method 2: Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Right-click the Explorer key and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  2. Rename the DWORD to NoPropertiesRecycleBin, and then double-click it. Change its value data to 1.

  3. Reboot your computer. When you right-click the Recycle Bin desktop icon, you’ll see the Properties option is gone. If you want to restore the Properties option later, just change the value data of NoPropertiesRecycleBin to 0 and you’re done.

Comments Off on 2 Ways to Remove Properties from Recycle Bin Context Menu in Windows 10 »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

Fix: Windows 10 Stuck at Spinning Circle During Restart or Shutdown

June 29th, 2020 by Admin

When you restart or shut down Windows 10, it may be stuck on a blue screen for a long time with a spinning circle.

Actually, Windows 10 is waiting for running applications to exit. If they don’t respond within 30 seconds, you’ll get the following screen and you can proceed with a forced shutdown.

To speed up the shutdown or rebooting process, you can reduce the timeout for unresponsive applications so Windows 10 doesn’t stuck at spinning circle for a long time.

How to Change Timeout for Unresponsive Applications in Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and hit Enter to launch Registry Editor.

  2. In the left pane, navigate to the following key. Right-click on the Desktop key and select New -> String Value.
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

  3. Name the new string “HungAppTimeout“, and then double-click it to modify. Enter a number between 1000 and 20000 in milliseconds and click OK. A low number means the app will be considered as unresponsive shortly.

  4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control and create a new string named WaitToKillServiceTimeout, which works the same as “HungAppTimeout”, but it applies to services instead of applications. Don’t set this value below 2000 milliseconds.
  5. Close Registry Editor when you’re done. You’ll have to restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Comments Off on Fix: Windows 10 Stuck at Spinning Circle During Restart or Shutdown »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags:

How to Change Storage Capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

June 24th, 2020 by Admin

Recycle Bin is a hidden folder in Windows which can store deleted files. Once the maximum storage size for the Recycle Bin is reached, Windows will automatically delete the oldest files permanently to make space for newly deleted files. If your Recycle Bin’s storage capacity is too small to hold a large file, you’ll get the following warning.

“This file is too big to recycle. Do you want to permanently delete it?”

To get rid of this warning, you need to increase the maximum storage size for the Recycle Bin. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to change storage capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

How to Change Storage Capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows

  1. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and then select “Properties” from the context menu.

  2. In the Recycle Bin Properties window, select a drive listed in the box and click the Custom size option, then specify the maximum size that it can hold deleted files. Each drive has its own Recycle Bin folder so you can set the storage capacity differently.

    The default maximum storage size of a Recycle Bin location is about 5% of its space available.

  3. Click OK to save your changes.

That’s it!

Comments Off on How to Change Storage Capacity for Recycle Bin in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

Tags:

Use Nearby Sharing to Transfer Files between Windows 10 PCs

June 23rd, 2020 by Admin

Is there a simple way to share files with my roommates or colleagues? Nearby Sharing makes it super easy to send files over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to nearby Windows 10 PCs. In this tutorial we’ll explain how to use Nearby Sharing to transfer files between two Windows 10 computers.

How to Transfer Files Easily Using Nearby Sharing

  1. Before getting started, you need to connect two Windows 10 PCs via Bluetooth or make sure they are on the same Wi-Fi network. Next, turn on the Nearby Sharing feature on both computers.

  2. In order to share a file, open File Explorer and locate the file you need to transfer. Right-click it and select the Share option from the context menu.

  3. The Share window will pop up and search for all nearby Windows 10 PCs. Select the computer that you want to send your file to and wait for the recipient to accept the share request.

  4. On the receiving computer, a notification will appear in the lower-right corner of the taskbar. You can click “Save” or “Save & open” to save the file immediately, or click “Decline” to decline the transfer.

Besides File Explorer, both Microsoft Edge and the Photos app also have a Share button, so you can share a photo or a link to any web page using the Nearby Sharing feature.

That’s it!

Comments Off on Use Nearby Sharing to Transfer Files between Windows 10 PCs »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: