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A little desktop tidiness goes a long wayYou may have the habit of putting apps and files that need your immediate attention on your desktop, but not of deleting or moving these to their proper folders when you’re through with them. What you end up with is a mess that makes it hard to find what you need and easy to lose […]

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28 Aug, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020august28windows_b, arranging windows desktop, cluttered desktop, desktop clutter, Windows, windows 10, windows 10 tips, windows tips category
A little desktop tidiness goes a long way

You may have the habit of putting apps and files that need your immediate attention on your desktop, but not of deleting or moving these to their proper folders when you’re through with them. What you end up with is a mess that makes it hard to find what you need and easy to lose important files forever. Prevent this by following our tips on clearing your desktop.

1. Arrange, sort, and prioritize

Before you go about deleting everything from your desktop, think about what you really want to keep. This will vary from person to person, but most people use their desktop for storing files, folders, and app shortcuts that they want to access quickly.

Take the time to prioritize your files and folders. An easy way to do this is to right-click on an empty area of your desktop (where there are no icons) and select Auto arrange icons. This will organize your icons into a grid format that makes it easier for you to see and work with them. Then, right-click on the empty space and hover your mouse over Sort by and select Date modified to arrange the icons by the date they were last opened, with the latest on top.

2. Create a folder for holding files and another for keeping app shortcuts

People often use their desktop to hold files like downloads, photos, screenshots, and even email attachments. This can lead to a messy desktop in a short period of time.

In truth, you probably don’t need all these shortcuts on your desktop. Instead, create a folder on your desktop that will serve as your dumping ground for all your nonessential files and folders.

If you don’t intend to keep a file, icon, photo, etc. for long, put it in this folder. Revisit this folder every once in a while to delete the files you no longer need.

It also helps if you create a shortcut folder. When you install new programs on Windows, a shortcut icon is often automatically added to your desktop. However, these desktop shortcuts should be for frequently used programs only. Create a separate folder for programs that aren’t used that often.

3. Be ruthless in cleaning

Once you have your folders set up, it’s time to get rid of the clutter. If you haven’t used a file, folder, etc. in the past two months or so, you should seriously consider getting rid of it.

Examine your desktop and be ruthless in cleaning:

  • Uninstall programs you no longer use.
  • Delete unimportant files, such as screenshots you no longer need.
  • Place the rest in relevant folders.

Once you’ve completed these, check your browser to see where it stores downloaded files. If your browser downloads files onto your desktop by default, go to Settings and change the target location to the Downloads folder.

4. Maintain order

Once you have decluttered your desktop, you must stick to the rules you’ve made. Whenever you download something, ask yourself whether this should go to the desktop, your dumping folder, or someplace else.

Of course, sticking with these rules won’t always be easy, so take time once or twice a month to revisit your desktop and clean it up a bit.

5. Use the taskbar or Start menu for apps

With Windows 10, you can pin apps to the Start menu and the taskbar. This is a great alternative to having program shortcuts on your desktop. To pin apps, open your apps list (i.e., click the Start menu icon at the bottom left corner of the screen) and right-click on the application you would like to pin. Simply select Pin to Start or Pin to taskbar for the option you want.

6. Choose a wallpaper you love looking at

An interesting way to minimize clutter is to pick a wallpaper that you enjoy looking at — whether it’s your favorite slogan, a photo of your family, or a picture of your dream house, car, or destination. Having an image you like serves as a reminder to keep icons to a minimum, so if you can’t see the image anymore, then you have too many icons, and it may be time to get rid of a few.

If you are looking to learn more about using Windows in your office, contact us today to see how we can help.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Why the new Microsoft Edge is worth usingMicrosoft recently released a more stable version of its web browser, Microsoft Edge, which the company rebuilt from scratch. If you’re in the market for a new and high-performing browser, Microsoft Edge has several new features that are worth checking out. 1. Collections Collections allows you to gather information from different sites, then organize, export, […]

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10 Aug, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020august10windows_b, bing, browser, microsoft, microsoft edge, Windows, windows 10 category
Why the new Microsoft Edge is worth using

Microsoft recently released a more stable version of its web browser, Microsoft Edge, which the company rebuilt from scratch. If you’re in the market for a new and high-performing browser, Microsoft Edge has several new features that are worth checking out.

1. Collections

Collections allows you to gather information from different sites, then organize, export, or return to it at a later time. Doing these can be especially difficult if you’re working across several sites and multiple devices.

To use this feature, simply click on the Collections button and a pane will open on the right side of your browser window. Here, you can easily drag and drop web pages, text, images, videos, and other elements into a group, which you can then import to a Word document or Excel workbook.

2. Vertical tabs

Vertical tabs are a handy feature if you often find yourself opening dozens of tabs at once at any given time. Instead of having to hover over or click on one to see which page it’s on, you can easily find and manage your tabs on the side with a single click. You’ll never have to lose track of or accidentally close tabs again.

3. Smart Copy

How often do you copy content from the web and paste it into a document only for it to become an ugly mess of text that needs to be cleaned up? This won’t be a problem if you use the new Microsoft Edge. The Smart Copy feature makes it easier to select, copy, and paste web content — including any images or links — while preserving its formatting.

4. Tracking prevention

Whenever you visit a site, online trackers can collect information about your internet activity, including pages you visit, links you click on, your search history, and more. What’s alarming is that they can do this even when you’re not on the site. Companies then use the data collected to target you with personalized advertisements and experiences. This can seem highly intrusive, if not downright creepy.

The new tracking prevention feature in Microsoft Edge is designed to keep you from being tracked by sites that you aren’t accessing directly. It’s enabled by default, and it gives you control over the types of third-party trackers to be detected and blocked, thereby enhancing your online privacy.

5. Password Monitor

Millions of online personal credentials are frequently exposed due to data breaches and sold on the dark web. To keep your online accounts safe from hackers, Microsoft developed the Password Monitor. When enabled, this feature notifies you if the credentials you’ve saved to autofill is on the dark web. It then prompts you to take action, allowing you to view a list of all the leaked credentials and then leading you to the respective site to change your password.

6. InPrivate mode enhancements

Sometimes, you may want extra online privacy when browsing the internet, especially if you’re sharing devices with other people. When you use the InPrivate mode, your history, cookies, and site data are automatically deleted once you finish a web browsing session. What’s more, your searches aren’t tied to your account, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of deleting your search or browser history.

7. Immersive Reader

Built into the new Microsoft Edge, Immersive Reader makes reading online easier and more accessible by removing distractions on the page and creating a simplified environment that helps you to focus. This feature also gives you access to a variety of capabilities, including hearing text read aloud or adjusting the text size.

8. 4K and Dolby Audio

If you enjoy binge-watching the latest series on Netflix or just want a high-definition entertainment experience when viewing content online, then this feature is for you. Microsoft Edge is the only browser on Windows 10 that lets you watch Netflix in stunning 4K resolution and supports Dolby Audio and Dolby Vision.

9. Give with Bing

Bing now comes with a Give Mode feature that allows you to support the causes you care about by simply searching using the search engine. As part of the Microsoft Rewards program, you can earn reward points for searches and donate these points to one out of more than a million nonprofits to choose from. This includes the CDC Foundation and other organizations supporting the COVID-19 response.

10. Easy switching

Microsoft Edge is available to download for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. What’s great is that you can easily copy or migrate your bookmarks, form fill information, passwords, and basic settings to the new Microsoft Edge with just a single click.

If you want to learn more about the latest features of Microsoft Edge and how to enjoy these benefits on your business computers, give us a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Get a faster Windows 10 PC with these tipsIs your computer taking a lot of time to perform tasks it used to finish within seconds? Just because your unit is slowing down doesn’t mean you’ll need to spend hundreds of dollars on a replacement. We’ve compiled four ways to speed up your Windows 10 computer for free: Prevent programs from launching at startup […]

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22 Jul, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020july22windows_b, application, disk cleaner, microsoft, operating system, speed, Tips, Windows, windows 10 category
Get a faster Windows 10 PC with these tips

Is your computer taking a lot of time to perform tasks it used to finish within seconds? Just because your unit is slowing down doesn’t mean you’ll need to spend hundreds of dollars on a replacement. We’ve compiled four ways to speed up your Windows 10 computer for free:

Prevent programs from launching at startup

Windows makes certain programs readily available by loading them at startup. While Microsoft likely has good intentions for doing this, this auto-launch feature slows down your computer. To fix this issue, you’ll need to adjust your settings.

Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc to see the programs that launch during startup. On the startup tab, you can easily disable any programs you don’t want launching at startup, such as media players and optional accessories that don’t have to be active all the time. But to be on the safe side, keep essential apps, such as antivirus software, enabled.

Get rid of useless applications

Having too many programs installed on your computer uses up valuable memory and hard disk space. This slows down your computer and makes the machine work harder than necessary. Quickly uninstall programs you don’t need by following these steps:

  • Tap the Windows key on your keyboard and type “Add or remove programs” (this will show you all the apps stored in your computer).
  • A link to the system settings will appear. Click on the link.
  • Select the program/s you no longer want, and click Uninstall.

Once you do this, you’ll then be guided through several steps to complete the uninstallation process.

Organize your disks

It’s important to regularly clean out your computer of data you don’t need. Thankfully, Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup tool makes it easy to do so.

To find the tool, tap on the Windows button on your keyboard and type “Disk Cleanup.” If you click on the link, the tool will automatically find files that take up too much memory space, such as temporary Internet and system memory dump files. Just click OK to send these files to your Recycle Bin.

Turn off apps running in the background

You may not know it, but there are a lot of programs running in the background as you use your computer. Microsoft enabled their native universal apps to do this so you can quickly access their features. However, this also slows down your CPU. Disabling them will reduce the burden on your computer and speed it up.

To find out what programs are running in the background, press the Windows button on your keyboard and type “Background apps.” Find the programs you don’t need running and toggle the On-Off button.

By following these four steps, you’ll see a noticeable difference in the speed of your PC. If you want to learn how to optimize your Windows system further or need assistance with your other Microsoft products, give us a call.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Ensure your privacy in Windows 10Windows 10 helps users by giving useful suggestions as they type and by displaying ads based on their online searches. But these can feel invasive after a while. To ensure your privacy and keep Microsoft’s watchful eye off your computer activity, follow these tips. Turn off personalized advertising Windows 10 assigns each user an advertising […]

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01 Jul, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020july01windows_b, browser, cookies, cortana, microsoft, microsoft edge, p2p file sharing, pc, privacy, Security, Windows, windows 10 category
Ensure your privacy in Windows 10

Windows 10 helps users by giving useful suggestions as they type and by displaying ads based on their online searches. But these can feel invasive after a while. To ensure your privacy and keep Microsoft’s watchful eye off your computer activity, follow these tips.

Turn off personalized advertising

Windows 10 assigns each user an advertising ID to personalize their ad experience based on their recent browser history. You can turn off the advertising ID feature by doing the following:

  1. Click Start > Settings > Privacy > General.
  2. Toggle off the option “Let apps use my advertising ID for experiences across apps.” This will reset your advertising ID.
  3. If you don’t want to receive locally relevant content from websites, toggle off the option “Let websites provide locally relevant content by accessing my language list.”

Disable Cortana

Microsoft has ventured into the market of voice-controlled virtual assistants with Cortana. This personal assistant allows users to set reminders, schedule events, and send emails, among other tasks. Every time you use Cortana, it collects information about your computer activity — “learning” it, so to speak — to improve user experience. But if you find this feature intrusive, you can disable Cortana completely with these steps:

  1. Search for the Windows Registry editor in the Windows search bar, or press Windows + R, type “regedit,” and click OK.
  2. Copy and paste HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows into the address bar at the top.
  3. Look for the Windows Search folder. If it doesn’t exist, create it by right-clicking the right-hand pane, then choose New > Key. Rename the folder “Windows Search”.
  4. Select the Windows Search folder, then right-click the right-hand pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  5. Name it “Allow Cortana,” and make sure the Value Data is set to zero.
  6. Restart your computer.

Stop peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing

Windows 10’s P2P file sharing feature enables your PC to share downloaded updates with other Windows 10 users by default. This helps other users update their systems faster and speeds up your upgrade downloads. To turn it off, do the following:

  1. Go to Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update > Advanced Options > Choose how updates are delivered.
  2. Note that the default setting is “Updates from more than one place.” If you want to disable this feature entirely, toggle off this option. If you want to share your files with PCs on your home network, leave this feature on and select PCs on my local network.

Change Microsoft’s Edge settings

Microsoft’s relaunched browser is chock-full of features, such as web experience personalization and typing prediction. Such features may make you uncomfortable since they all send back data to Microsoft. Here’s how to turn them off:

  1. Open Edge and click on the menu icon (three dots) in the upper right corner.
  2. Next, click on Settings > Privacy and services. Scroll down and switch on the “Send ‘Do Not Track’ requests” option.

There’s also a bunch of privacy and services settings that you may want to disable, such as tracking services, navigation error resolution, block potentially unwanted apps, and more.

For more tips on keeping Microsoft from tracking your online activity and more information about how to safeguard your security and privacy, drop us a line today. Our experts will be more than happy to help!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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