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If you’ve finally made the upgrade to Windows 10, you may be disappointed that it’s running slower than expected. You may wonder, what’s the cause of this? Well, thankfully there are a few typical culprits, and solutions to fix them. Here are four steps you can take to significantly speed up your Windows 10 OS. […]

2016Mar3_MicrosoftWindowsNewsAndTips_BIf you’ve finally made the upgrade to Windows 10, you may be disappointed that it’s running slower than expected. You may wonder, what’s the cause of this? Well, thankfully there are a few typical culprits, and solutions to fix them. Here are four steps you can take to significantly speed up your Windows 10 OS.

Prevent programs from launching at startup

Windows loads several programs at startup so they’re quickly available. While Microsoft likely has good intentions for doing this, the auto-launch can also slow down the speed of your computer. To fix this issue, you’ll need to make some manual adjustments in the settings.

To see what programs are launching during startup, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Next, click on the startup tab of the Task Manager window, where you can easily disable any programs you don’t want launching at startup. However, there will likely be a few programs you’re unsure about. For those, it’s best to play it safe and keep them enabled.

Get rid of useless applications

Having a large amount of programs on your computer takes up valuable memory and hard disk space. In other words, it slows your computer down and makes it work harder than necessary. To quickly clean out your unused programs, follow these steps:
  1. Type Change or remove a program into the taskbar search box (this will show you all the apps stored on your computer)
  2. Select the program/s you no longer want, and click Uninstall.
Once you do this, you’ll then be guided through a number of steps to complete the uninstallation process.

Tidy up your disks

While most people like to clean out their houses come Spring, why not do so with your computer sometime this month? Thankfully, Microsoft’s Disk Cleaner tool makes it easy to do so.

To find Disk Cleaner, right-click any drive in File Explorer and select Properties and Disk Cleanup under the General tab. Once open, it will automatically find files that may be taking up unnecessary space, such as temporary Internet and system memory dump files, and presents them to you for your review. Once you’ve looked them over, you can easily erase them by simply clicking OK.

Turn off apps running in the background

Much to your surprise, there are likely some programs running in the background of your Windows 10 OS that you’re completely unaware of. Microsoft has enabled their native universal apps to do this so you can quickly access their features. However, it also will cause some slow down to your CPU, so you might want to disable them.

To find out what programs are running in the background, navigate to Start Menu>Settings>Privacy>Background apps. Then, switch off the programs you don’t want running at all times.

By following these four steps, you are sure to see a noticeable difference in the speed of your PC. If you’d like to learn more about how to optimize your Windows system or need assistance with your other Microsoft products, feel free to give us a call.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Privacy is a luxury that few can afford to be without. However, private information can be easily compromised by hackers, scorned lovers and even operating systems themselves. Rumors run rampant concerning the data collection Windows 10 subjects its users to, so don’t wait to secure your business information. Here are some tips on how to […]

2016Feb18_MicrosoftWindowsNewsAndTips_BPrivacy is a luxury that few can afford to be without. However, private information can be easily compromised by hackers, scorned lovers and even operating systems themselves. Rumors run rampant concerning the data collection Windows 10 subjects its users to, so don’t wait to secure your business information. Here are some tips on how to improve privacy protection.

Say goodbye to ad tracking

Every time you log on to surf the net, you are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that lead directly to your online profile. This problem is easily solved by deactivating ad tracking. With Windows 10, however, it goes a tad further by using an advertising ID. They not only gather information based on web browsing but also when you use Windows 10 apps.

If you find this bothersome, launch the Settings app, go to General, and look for “Change privacy options”. You then move the slider from on to off, but if you want to make absolutely 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.

Slip off the grid

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 awhile. To do so, launch the Settings app, then Privacy, and disable the Location tab.

But 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. Also, regularly clearing your location history doesn’t hurt either.

Cortana, why so clingy?

Albeit a very helpful digital assistant, Cortana requires access to your personal information. Turning it off completely just stops some of her data-collection, since whatever data she already knows, is stored in the cloud. So to break up for good, log into your Microsoft account and then clear all the information Cortana and other Microsoft services (ex. Bing maps) have gathered.

Other measures include clearing the information in your interests section or heading over to the “interest manager” tab and edit which interests you wish Cortana to track.

Disable Wi-Fi Sense?

This feature is designed to let you easily share Wi-Fi connections, but some have misunderstood it to be an opportunity to log onto your network and be naughty. Wi-Fi Sense allows you to share your network’s bandwidth with specific people while ensuring they can’t access your entire network. Vice versa, it lets you connect to Wi-Fi networks your friends share with you.

If it still worries you, 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”.

Prioritize privacy

All of the aforementioned tips should take about five to ten minutes to implement, but if you’d like to take it one step further, launch the Settings app, go to Privacy, and look on the left-hand side. Here, you will find various settings that allow you to make very detailed adjustments to your privacy. Enjoy!

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.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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