Archive for the ‘Windows 10’ category

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5 Ways to Reset Firewall Settings to Default in Windows 10

June 12th, 2019 by Admin

Mess up the firewall settings accidentally? Need to delete all the custom firewall rules to troubleshoot your network connectivity issue? In this tutorial we’ll show you 5 ways to reset / restore firewall settings to default in Windows 10.

Method 1: Reset Firewall Settings to Default via Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel and change the View by option from Category to Large icons. Click on Windows Defender Firewall.

  2. Click on the Restore defaults link on the left side.

  3. Click on the Restore defaults button.

  4. When the confirmation dialog box appears, click Yes and your Windows firewall settings will be restored to default immediately.

Method 2: Reset Firewall Settings to Default via Windows Defender

  1. Open the Windows Defender app and select Firewall & network protection on the left menu bar. Next, click the “Restore firewalls to default” option on the right side.

  2. Click on the Restore defaults button.

  3. You will be asked for confirmation once again. Click Yes to reset all Windows Firewall settings.

Method 3: Reset Firewall Settings to Default via Windows Firewall with Advanced Security

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box, type wf.msc and hit Enter to open the “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security” console.

  2. Right-click on the top item “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer” in the left pane and select “Restore Default Policy“.

  3. Click Yes when you see the following confirmation dialog box.

  4. All the firewall rules are now reset to their initial values, as they were when you first installed Windows 10.

Method 4: Reset Firewall Settings to Default via Command Prompt

  1. Open the Command Prompt as administrator, and type this command:
    netsh advfirewall reset

  2. Once pressing Enter, all the firewall settings are now reset to their default values.

Method 5: Reset Firewall Settings to Default via Windows PowerShell

  1. Open Windows PowerShell as administrator, and run the following command:
    (New-Object -ComObject HNetCfg.FwPolicy2).RestoreLocalFirewallDefaults()

  2. Your Firewall rules will be restored to defaults in no time, without any additional confirmation.

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Add or Remove Check Boxes to Select Multiple Files in Windows 10 File Explorer

June 5th, 2019 by Admin

Selection check boxes don’t show up in File Explorer? How can I remove check marks on desktop icons? File Explorer allows you to use check boxes to select multiple folders / files without having to hold down the Ctrl key. When some files are selected or you hover the pointer over a file, check boxes will appear and you can check or uncheck to make your selection.

This feature is very useful for tablet users. If you’re accustomed to use the Ctrl key to select multiple files, you can get rid of check boxes. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to add or remove check boxes to select multiple files in Windows 10 File Explorer.

Method 1: Add or Remove Check Boxes to Select Items via Folder Options

  1. Open the File Explorer. Select the View tab on the Ribbon and then click on Options.

  2. When the Folder Options dialog box opens, go to the View tab, scroll down to the bottom and check or uncheck the “Use check boxes to select items” option.

  3. Click Apply and then OK. Your changes will take effect immediately.

Method 2: Add or Remove Check Boxes to Select Items via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following location:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

    Double-click the DWORD AutoCheckSelect in the right pane to modify it.

  2. Set it to 1 to enable using check boxes to select items. Otherwise, set it to 0 (this is default setting).

  3. Log off or restart your computer to apply the changes.

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How to Unlock the Keyboard on Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Computer

May 28th, 2019 by Admin

Keyboard is locked and you can’t type anything? If you’ve locked the keyboard unintentionally and couldn’t recall how you did it, just follow this troubleshooting tutorial and you should be able to unlock the keyboard on your Windows 10 / 8 / 7 computer.

Before getting started, you have to find if certain keys or the entire keyboard has broken physically. For external USB / PS2 keyboard, you can connect it to a different computer. If the issue still exists, it is possible that your keyboard is physically damaged. Otherwise, it should be a software issue and you can fix it with the steps below.

Step 1: Turn Off Filter Keys

If your entire keyboard is locked, it’s possible that you’ve turned on the Filter Keys feature accidentally. When you hold down the right SHIFT key for 8 seconds, you should hear a tone and the “Filter Keys” icon appears in the system tray. Just then, you’ll find that the keyboard is locked and you can’t type anything.

To unlock the keyboard, you have to hold down the right SHIFT key for 8 seconds again to turn off Filter Keys, or disable Filter Keys from the Control Panel.

Step 2: Turn Off NumLock

If your keyboard doesn’t type the correct characters, it’s possible that you’ve turned on NumLock or you’re using a incorrect keyboard layout. To fix such issue, you have to disable NumLock or change your keyboard layout by following these tutorials:

Step 3: Reinstall or Update Keyboard Driver

The keyboard may become locked due to a faulty or outdated driver. To get your keyboard back to work, you may need to reinstall or update the keyboard driver. Follow these steps:

Open Device Manager and expand the Keyboards category. Right-click on your computer’s keyboard and select either Update driver or Uninstall device.

If you’ve chosen the “Uninstall device” option, restart your PC. Windows will automatically install the default keyboard driver.

Conclusion

With these troubleshooting tips you should be able to unlock your keyboard most of the time. If you problem still persists, try to contact your computer’s manufacturer or seek help from their forums. For HP Pavilion laptop, you might unlock the keyboard by pressing the Ctrl + PrntScr keyboard shortcut.

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How to Disable Windows 10 Face Recognition or Fingerprint Login

May 22nd, 2019 by Admin

How do I remove Window Hello from the Lock Screen? Windows Hello is a new feature based on biometric technology that lets you log in to Windows 10 with fingerprint or facial recognition. If you want to disable Windows Hello for saving battery life, here are several ways to disable Windows 10 Face Recognition or Fingerprint login.

Method 1: Remove Windows 10 Face Recognition or Fingerprint Login

  1. Press the Windows logo + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app, and head to Accounts -> Sign-in options. In the right-side pane, look for the Windows Hello section and click the Remove button under Face Recognition or Fingerprint.

  2. After completing the steps, you can once again sign in to Windows 10 using a password.

Method 2: Disable Windows Hello Biometrics Using Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Biometrics. Double-click the “Allow the use of biometrics” policy on the right pane.

  2. Select the Disabled option. Click Apply and then OK.

  3. Now, the Windows Hello feature is removed from the lock screen. If you open up the Settings app and head to the Sign-in options page, you should see a “Face and fingerprint recognition are not available on this device” message appear under Windows Hello.

Method 3: Disable Windows Hello Biometrics Using Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Biometrics. If the Biometrics key doesn’t exist, you have to create it.
  2. Right-click on the Biometrics key and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it Enabled and leave its value data to 0. (0: disallow the use of biometrics; 1: Allow the use of biometrics)

  3. Close Registry Editor and reboot your PC to apply the changes.

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How to Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection in Windows 10 / 8

May 20th, 2019 by Admin

In Windows 10 / 8, Microsoft has implemented Early Launch Anti-Malware (ELAM) protection which can check the integrity of system files and prevent malicious drivers or programs from starting very early in the boot process. The well documented sticky keys exploit lets you escalate privilege from Windows login screen, but it is no longer working because of ELAM.

However, if a driver is classified as malware by ELAM because it is malicious or a false positive, it may prevent your system from booting. To solve this issue, you may need to temporarily turn off ELAM so that you can either update your antivirus software or remove the problematic malware driver. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way to temporarily disable Early Launch Anti-Malware protection in Windows 10 / 8.

How to Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection in Windows 10 / 8

  1. When you are on Windows login screen, click the Power button, hold down Shift key and choose the Restart option to access the Advanced Boot Options screen.

    If you don’t even get to the Windows login screen, just boot your PC with Windows installation media and click on “Repair your computer“.

  2. Next, click on the Troubleshoot option.

  3. Click on Advanced options.

  4. If you couldn’t see the Startup Settings option, click on See more recovery options.

  5. Click on Startup Settings.

  6. Click on the Restart button.

  7. Your computer should automatically reboot into the Startup Settings menu as shown below. Now, you can press the 8 or F8 key on your keyboard to disable early-launch anti-malware protection.

  8. This will launch Windows, but with the early launch anti-malware protection disabled temporarily. Note that the next time you restart the computer, early-launch anti-malware protection will automatically be enabled again.

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Free Ways to Optimize and Defrag Drives in Windows 10

May 16th, 2019 by Admin

As files are created or deleted over time, your disk will become fragmented, causing your system not to run as efficiently as it used to. To improve the performance of your PC, you have to defrag hard drive on a regular basis. Here are some free ways to optimize and defrag drives in Windows 10.

Method 1: Using the Built-in Optimization Drive tool

In File Explorer, right-click on the drive you want to defrag and select Properties from the context menu. When the Properties window appears, select the Tools tab and then click on Optimize.

A new window will appear with details about your hard disk drives. You can click on the Analyze button to tell you how fragmented the drives are, and then click on the Optimize button to begin the defragmentation.

Method 2: Optimize and Defrag Drives with Command Prompt

Open the Command Prompt as administrator, and then run the following command to optimize and defrag a specific drive in Windows 10:
defrag D: /O

Remember to replace D: with the actual drive you want to defrag. If you need to perform a boot-time defragmentation, try boot into Advanced Boot Options and access Command Prompt. From there you can run the above command to defrag your drives.

Method 3: Optimize and Defrag Drives with PowerShell

Open Windows PowerShell as administrator, and type the following command to analyze your drive. Look at the bottom of the output, it will advise whether or not you need to defrag the drive.
Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter D -Analyze -Verbose

If you decide to defrag a drive, execute this command:
Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter D -Defrag -Verbose

For Solid State Drive, defragging can cause performance issues and even reduce the life of the drive. You should use the trim command to erase unused blocks which are no longer in use:
Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter D -ReTrim -Verbose

Conclusion

There are also many free defragging tools (such as Auslogics Disk Defrag Free, Defraggler) that can make disk defragmentation easier and faster, but I think the built-in defrag tool in Windows 10 should be enough.

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2 Ways to Export and Import Local Security Policy in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

May 13th, 2019 by Admin

How can I backup local security policy or transfer all policy settings from one system to another? In this tutorial we’ll show 2 simple ways to export and import local security policy in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Export and Import Local Security Policy with GUI

The Local Security Policy Editor comes with the import / export feature, making it much easier to migrate or replicate the same local security policy settings across multiple computers.

Export:

  1. Press the Windows key + R together. When the Run dialog box shows up, type secpol.msc into it and hit Enter to open the Local Security Policy Editor.

  2. Right-click on Security Settings in the left-side pane, and you can then select “Export policy” from the context menu.

  3. Browse to the location where you want to save the security settings file (.INF), give it a name and click on Save.

  4. Open the .inf file with your text editor. As you can see, it contains all your local security policy, including your account lockout and password policy.

Import:

  1. Open the Local Security Policy Editor as before, right-click on Security Settings in the left pane and this time choose “Import policy“.

  2. Browse to the location where you saved the security settings file, select the INF file and click on Open.

  3. Reboot your computer to apply the new local security policy.

Method 2: Export and Import Local Security Policy with Command Prompt

To export the local security policy settings to a file (for example, security-policy.inf), open the Command Prompt as administrator and type the following:
secedit.exe /export /cfg D:\security-policy.inf

When you need to import the local security policy settings from the .INF file, simply run this command:
secedit.exe /configure /db %windir%\security\local.sdb /cfg D:\security-policy.inf

This method is very useful especially when you’re using the Home edition of Windows which has no Local Security Policy Editor.

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How to Hide Wireless Network Password in Windows 10

May 8th, 2019 by Admin

Having Windows remember your WiFi password is a great convenience, but this will also make your wireless password exposed to anyone who has physical access to your computer. Just open the Properties of a WiFi adapter and we can check the “Show characters” option to view the saved wireless network security key/password.

This might inadvertently leak your WiFi password. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way to hide wireless password from the WiFi adapter’s properties window in Windows 10.

How to Hide Wireless Network Password in Windows 10

  1. Open the Registry Editor. Copy and paste the below line into the address bar and then hit Enter.
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{86F80216-5DD6-4F43-953B-35EF40A35AEE}

  2. Right-click on the subkey named {86F80216-5DD6-4F43-953B-35EF40A35AEE} in the left-side pane and then select Permissions from the context menu.

  3. Click on Advanced button.

  4. By default TrustedInstaller is showing up as the owner, and we need to click the Change link.

  5. Type the name of your Administrators group and then click the “Check Names” button to validate the account name. When that’s done, click OK.

  6. Now, back to the Advanced Security Settings window. Just keep the permission entry for the “System” account and remove all other entries from the list. When done, click OK.

  7. From now on, you should no longer be able to view your wireless password from the WiFi network adapter’s Properties window.

    8. However, this won’t prevent users from recovering your wireless password using third-party password cracking software or other methods described in this article: 3 Ways to Find Saved Wi-Fi Passwords on Windows 10

Whenever you need to get the the “Show characters” option back to work again, just grant your account access to the registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{86F80216-5DD6-4F43-953B-35EF40A35AEE}. Follow these steps:

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{86F80216-5DD6-4F43-953B-35EF40A35AEE}. Right-click on the {86F80216-5DD6-4F43-953B-35EF40A35AEE} subkey and select Permissions.
  2. Click on Add button.

  3. Type Administrators in the “Enter the object names to select” text box, and click on Check Names button. If there is no error found, click OK.

  4. Back at the Permissions window, select the Administrators group and then click the Allow check box next to the “Full Control” permission.

  5. Click OK and close Registry Editor.

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