Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

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How can I disable specific Control Panel applets in Windows

November 23rd, 2018 by Admin

Control Panel exposes lots of crucial settings that you might not want somebody else to mess with. In previous post we’ve covered a way to hide specific Control Panel items using GPO, but that can’t prevent others from opening the hidden Control Panel item using Command Prompt. Here we’ll show you another way to disable specific Control Panel applets in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

How can I Disable Specific Control Panel Applets?

Each tool in Control Panel is represented by a .cpl file in the directory: C:\Windows\System32. In order to prevent anybody from accessing specific Control Panel applets, we can lock down the .cpl files with the application – Protect My Folders.

  1. Download and install the Protect My Folders program. The first time you launch the program, you’ll be asked to set up a password to help prevent unauthorized users from opening it.
  2. Before locking down the .cpl files, you have to modify the program settings. Click on the Settings button.

  3. Under the “Exclude List” tab, select your Windows directory and click on Remove.

  4. Next, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32. You can search for all files with .cpl filename extensions, and double-click on each .cpl file to know if the Control Panel applet is the one you want to disable. For example, timedate.cpl is the “Date and Time” applet, appwiz.cpl is the “Programs and Features” applet, etc.

  5. Just drag the .cpl files you want to restrict others from accessing, and drop them into the Protect My Folders program.

  6. Close the Protect My Folders program. Now, if you try to access the blocked Control Panel applet, it won’t open up any longer.

That’s it!

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

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4 Ways to Change Time Zone in Windows 10

November 20th, 2018 by Admin

If your computer shows the wrong time, it’s probably because Windows fails to update the time zone based on your physical location, especially when you’re traveling overseas. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 simple ways to change time zone in Windows 10.

Method 1: Change Time Zone in Windows 10 from Settings

Open the Settings app and go to the “Time & Language” section.

Select Date & time in the left-hand menu. Make sure the “Set time zone automatically” is turned off, so you can then click the “Time zone” drop-down menu to set the correct time zone for your location.

Method 2: Change Time Zone in Windows 10 from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, and click on Date and Time.

Click on the Change time zone button.

In the Time Zone Settings window, you can adjust the time zone based on your physical location. Click OK to save your changes.

Method 3: Change Time Zone in Windows 10 from Command Prompt

Open an elevated Command Prompt.

To view the current time zone, type tzutil /G and press Enter. If you want to find out the list of all available time zones, type tzutil /L instead.

To set a new time zone, execute the command:
tzutil /S "time_zone_name"

Method 4: Change Time Zone in Windows 10 from PowerShell

Open Windows PowerShell as administrator.

You can find out your current time zone by executing the Get-TimeZone command. To list all available time zones, run this command: Get-TimeZone -ListAvailable.

In order to change the time zone, execute the command:
Set-TimeZone -Name "time_zone_name"

That’s it!

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3 Ways to Prevent Windows 10 from Syncing Passwords

November 16th, 2018 by Admin

By default, Windows 10 will automatically sync your settings (including desktop themes, passwords, language preferences) across all your devices you sign into with the same Microsoft account. For security and privacy concern, you can selectively turn off password synchronization. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 ways to prevent Windows 10 from syncing passwords.

Method 1: Turn off Password Sync from the Settings App

  1. Press the Windows key + I to open up the Settings app. Click on Accounts.

  2. Select Sync your settings in the left-hand menu. You can either disable syncing completely, or selectively turn off individual sync settings. Here we choose the Password option to toggle it off.

  3. Now, all your stored credentials in your browsers and Windows apps will not be synced to other devices.

Method 2: Turn off Password Sync Using Group Policy

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to:
    Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Sync your settings

    Next, double-click the “Do not sync passwords” policy on the right side.

  2. Select Enabled. Uncheck the “Allow users to turn passwords syncing on” option if you also want to disable the “Password” sync setting in the Settings app.

  3. Click Apply and then OK.

Method 3: Turn off Password Sync Using Registry Editor

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

  2. Name the new DWORD value DisableCredentialsSettingSync. Next, double-click it to modify.

  3. You’ll see the Edit DWORD (32-Bit) Value dialog box. Enter 2 into the Value data and click OK.

  4. Use the same method to create another DWORD DisableCredentialsSettingSyncUserOverride, and set its value data to 1.

  5. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

If you need to turn on password sync later, just change the value of the DWORD DisableCredentialsSettingSync to 0 and you’re done.

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3 Steps to Change Default Web Browser to Firefox or Chrome in Windows 10

November 15th, 2018 by Admin

When you click a hyperlink from any app, it will open up the web page in whatever default browser you have set. Microsoft Edge is the default web browser on Windows 10. If you want to change default web browser to something else like Chrome or Firefox, follow the steps below.

3 Steps to Change Default Web Browser to Firefox or Chrome in Windows 10:

Press the Windows key + I to open up the Settings app. Click on the Apps icon.

Next, select Default apps in the left-hand menu. Scroll down to look for a section called Web browser, then click on the icon of your current default browser underneath.

In the resulting pop up menu, you can set the default web browser to Firefox or Chrome that is installed on your computer.

That’s it!

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3 Ways to Change Workgroup Name in Windows 10

November 13th, 2018 by Admin

If your PC is part of a home network, you can see other computers in the same workgroup and access the resources (like files and printers) being shared by others. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 ways to change workgroup name in Windows 10, if you need to join an existing workgroup or create a new one.

Method 1: Change Workgroup Name from System Properties

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box, type SystemPropertiesComputerName and press Enter.

When the System Properties window opens, click the Change button.

Select Workgroup under “Member of” at the bottom, and enter the desired workgroup name and click OK.

You’ll be prompted to restart your PC and apply the new workgroup name.

Method 2: Change Workgroup Name Using Command Prompt

Open an elevated Command Prompt, and run the following command. Replace “Workgroup_Name” with the new workgroup name.
wmic computersystem where name="%computername%" call joindomainorworkgroup name="Workgroup_Name"

When the command is executed successfully, reboot your PC.

Method 3: Change Workgroup Name Using PowerShell

Open the PowerShell as adminstrator, and execute the following command. Substitute “Workgroup_Name” with the actual name of the workgroup you want to join.
Add-Computer -WorkGroupName "Workgroup_Name"

When finished, close the Windows PowerShell and restart your computer.

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3 Ways to Turn off Advertising ID for Relevant Ads in Windows 10

November 12th, 2018 by Admin

By default, Microsoft generates a unique advertising ID for each account to track your activity in Windows Apps to target you with relevant ads. If you want to stop personalized ads from appearing on apps in your Windows 10 PC, here are 3 ways to turn off Advertising ID for your Windows account.

Method 1: Disable Advertising ID for Current Account Using Settings App

  1. Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app. Click on Privacy.

  2. Make sure the General tab is selected. On the right side, turn off the “Let apps use advertising ID to make ads more interesting to you based on your app usage“.

  3. Now you’ve reset your advertising ID. You’ll still see ads, but they won’t be personalized to your tastes and preferences.

Method 2: Disable Advertising ID for Current Account Using Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to the following location:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AdvertisingInfo

    In the right pane, double-click on the 32-bit DWORD “Enabled” to edit it.

  2. Set its value to 0 to disable your advertising ID. If you want to turn on advertising ID, change the value back to 0.

  3. Now you should be able to use Windows 10 apps without getting targeted ads from Microsoft.

Method 3: Disable Advertising ID for All Accounts Using Group Policy

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to:
    Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\User Profile

    Double-click on the “Turn off the advertising ID” policy on the right side to edit it.

  2. Select Enabled. Click Apply and then OK.

  3. Now you’ve turned off interest-based advertising, but you will still see ads but they will no longer be as relevant to your interests.

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How to Disable or Enable Touch Screen on Windows 10 PC

November 9th, 2018 by Admin

Many Windows 10 laptops and tablets ship with a touch screen. If you want to turn off touch screen function to prevent accidental input, you can disable it completely. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to disable or enable touch screen on Windows 10 PC, using Device Manager or PowerShell command line.

Method 1: Disable or Enable Touch Screen Using Device Manager

  1. Press the Windows key + X to open the Quick Link menu and then select Device Manager.

  2. When the Device Manager window opens, click the little arrow next to “Human Interface Devices” to expand the category. Right-click the “HID-compliant touch screen” and choose Disable device.

  3. A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm disabling your touch screen. Click Yes.

  4. This change will take effect immediately. Try to touch your screen and it should stop responding. If you want to enable the touch screen again, just enable the “HID-compliant touch screen” device and you’re done!

Method 2: Disable or Enable Touch Screen Using PowerShell

Open the PowerShell as administrator and run the following command to disable touch screen on your Windows 10 computer:

Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like '*touch screen*'} | Disable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false

If you want to enable touch screen, just execute this command instead:
Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like '*touch screen*'} | Enable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false

That’s it!

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How to Add “Show Desktop” Shortcut to Taskbar in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7

November 8th, 2018 by Admin

How can I switch to the desktop without closing all opened windows? You can use the Windows key + D shortcut to minimize all open windows at once to view the desktop. If you want to get to the desktop with a single click instead of keyboard shortcut, you can add a “Show Desktop” shortcut icon to the taskbar in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7.

How to Add “Show Desktop” Shortcut to Taskbar in Windows?

Right-click an empty area on your desktop and select New -> Shortcut.

Paste the following into the location box and click Next.
explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}

Name this shortcut something meaningful, and click Finish.

The icon of your created shortcut should appear on the desktop. Right-click it and select Properties.

Under the Shortcut tab, click the Change Icon button at the bottom.

Select the icon highlighted in blue, and click OK.

Now, right-click on the “Show Desktop” shortcut on your desktop, and you can pin it to the taskbar or pin it to the Start Menu as a tile.

Every time you need to switch to the desktop, just click the “Show Desktop” icon in the taskbar and it will hide all your open windows without closing.

That’s it!

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How to Change BitLocker PIN in Windows 10

November 7th, 2018 by Admin

How do I change the BitLocker PIN? It’s a good practice to change your BitLocker PIN periodically to ensure the security of your operating system drive. In this tutorial we’ll show you the easiest ways to change BitLocker PIN in Windows 10.

Method 1: Change BitLocker PIN in File Explorer

Open File Explorer. Right-click on your operating system drive which is encrypted with BitLocker, and select “Change BitLocker PIN” from the context menu.

Enter the old PIN and then enter the new PIN twice, click on Change PIN.

You should receive the message “the PIN has been successfully changed” immediately. If you’ve forgotten your BitLocker PIN, just click the “Reset a forgotten PIN” link underneath. It will let you set up a new PIN without asking for your current PIN.

Method 2: Change BitLocker PIN from Command Line

Open an elevated Command Prompt.

To change your BitLocker PIN, enter the following command into the Command Prompt window. If your Windows partition is not C:, use the drive letter that’s correct for your system.
manage-bde -changepin C:

Once pressing Enter, you’ll be prompted to enter the new PIN twice. For security reasons, you will not be able to see your new PIN as you type it.

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How to Reset Hosts File Back to Default in Windows 10

November 1st, 2018 by Admin

Every Windows version comes with a Hosts file which provides a simple mechanism to redirect website to IP address. If the HOSTS file is modified incorrectly or maliciously, it can break your Internet. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to easily reset the HOSTS file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) back to default in Windows 10.

How to Reset Hosts File Back to Default in Windows 10?

By default, the HOSTS file is protected by the operating system so you’re unable to edit it without admin rights. Here we’re going to open the HOSTS file with Notepad and restore its content back to default:

Click the Start button and type notepad. Right-click the Notepad app appeared in the search result, and then select “Run as administrator“.

With Notepad open in administrator mode, you’re ready to open the HOSTS file. Click on the File menu and select Open.

Browse to the directory C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Change the file filter drop-down box from “Text Documents (*.txt)” to “All Files“, and select the HOSTS file and click Open.

Now, paste the following text into Notepad:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
# localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost

Click on the File menu and Save. Now you’ve successfully reset the HOSTS file back to default in Windows 10. For Windows 8/7/Vista, the contents of the HOSTS file are different and you can copy them from Microsoft’s website.

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