M-series Macs can do Windows 11

Parallels gets updated every year to keep pace with Apple’s major OS upgrades and it has lifted the bar once again for running Windows on Mac computers. Parallels Desktop for Mac 18 brings with it a swathe of enhancements to performance and compatibility to let you run Windows or Linux as a virtual machine (VM) on a Mac.

Parallels 18 is compatible with the latest, recently released, macOS 13 (Ventura) and is optimised for Apple’s latest ProMotion display (at frame rates up to 120fps) and the expanding range of M-series chips.

It supports macOS Ventura’s new Stage Manager desktop organiser software on your host Mac, integrating Mac apps and Windows apps seamlessly in the sidebar.

You can run “guest” VMs of Windows 10 and 11, as well as a range of other operating systems including Linux distros and even other versions of macOS.��

No TPM security chip issue

If you’re using an M-series Mac, the catch is that it needs to use an ARM version of Windows or Linux. But again, Parallels makes installation super easy.

You can download Windows for ARM free by joining Microsoft’s Insider Preview program, or you can use the built-in downloader to install a new copy of Windows from within Parallels.��

Parallels 18 gets around the need for having a TPM security chip to run Windows 11 by providing a virtual TPM chip. You can also install several ARM versions of Linux from within Parallels 18.

You might ask “If you have a Mac, why would you want to run Windows?” and there are various answers. You might have switched to Mac from Windows but still have some favourite Windows programs you want to run. Perhaps you use Windows at work and a Mac at home and want greater compatibility for a work-from-home scenario.

If you’re looking to purchase an M-series Mac and want to run Windows or other operating systems under Parallels, strongly consider opting for more than the basic 8GB (gigabytes) of RAM (memory) that comes with some models. While you can actually run Parallels with just 8GB of RAM on your Mac, having 16GB RAM will give you a much better result overall.

The reason for this is that you will likely be running at least two full operating systems (macOS and Windows) plus the programs that need to run under each and you’re doing it all at the same time. And you may want to run Linux and older macOS versions too. For that sort of scenario there’s really no substitute for having heaps of RAM on hand.

Wide-ranging compatibility

Parallels 18 engineers have worked with Microsoft to provide improved compatibility. Parallels claims 99.99% of Intel (x86) applications run under Windows 11 on ARM, including heavyweight programs such as AutoCAD and games.��There’s also improved USB 3.0 to support live data streaming devices, such as webcams and video capture and streaming devices.

And if you’re a gamer, running Windows under Parallels is an attractive option that can give you access to the enormous range of PC games not available for Mac.��

You can connect a game controller to the Mac, switch over to Windows and start playing. It automatically shares Xbox or PlayStation DualShock Bluetooth game controllers with Windows and Linux.

As well as the latest macOS Ventura, Parallels 18 runs on (as host) the older macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina and Mojave. You can run VMs of much older virtualised operating systems though, going all the way back to MacOS X Lion, Windows versions back to Windows 2000 and a range of Linux distros.

Parallels Desktop 18 will run in the Standard, Pro, and Business editions on Macs with either Intel or Apple M series chips. For most general users, the Standard edition should be fine, but there are also Pro and Business editions that add numerous features for people such as developers and system administrators.

Performance tips��

The big question always asked of a virtualisation is – how fast is running Windows via Parallels compared with running Windows natively on Mac hardware (e.g. via Boot Camp)? Well, if you have an M-Series Mac the Boot Camp option is off the table completely because Boot Camp doesn’t exist for Apple Silicon models.��

But if you want the best results, you should be using a solid-state drive (SSD) – either internally or externally – and plenty of RAM.

Each operating system under Parallels runs in a self-contained virtual machine (VM). The good news is that if you don’t have a large enough SSD in your laptop, you can run all your VMs from a portable SSD with USB (or preferably Thunderbolt) connection. SSD prices have been falling consistently for several years so go for a decent size – say 1TB (terabyte) or even 2TB and you can fill it up with as many versions of macOS, Windows and Linux as you like.

How many VMs you can run at the same time is more dependent on your RAM. So, as we said earlier, if you can add more memory to your machine or you’re looking to buy a new computer to run Parallels, go for 16GB (gigabytes) of RAM or more.

Toolbox and remote access

Parallels Desktop subscriptions include subscriptions to Parallels Toolbox for Mac and Windows, and Parallels Access. Parallels Toolbox is a set of more than 50 very helpful, if not essential, productivity tools for Mac and Windows all gathered together for easy installation and access.��

More tools are added each year and you can use them from within Windows or the Mac environment. These little apps can be real timesavers for the sorts of tasks that you do frequently, such as downloading videos, screen captures, resizing images, alarms, freeing up memory, encrypting files and much more.��

You don’t have to use them all to love this package, just pick a few regular go-to apps and you’ll be more productive, and you know that there are plenty more for when you need to do something more unusual.

Parallels Access, as the name implies, helps you easily get remote access to your computer from anywhere over a local network or the internet.��

Maintain Mac compatibility

Parallels can be helpful even if you don’t want to run Windows or Linux. The latest macOS Ventura is a major upgrade and if you haven’t yet decided to take the plunge, Parallels can let you try it out while keeping your existing macOS.��

Likewise, you might want to upgrade to macOS Ventura but don’t want to lose some older programs that may not be supported, so you can also run older macOS versions in virtual machines under Parallels and use your old programs indefinitely.

Alternatives

Boot Camp is an option for Intel-based Macs, letting you install Windows to run directly on the Apple hardware without emulation, but Boot Camp is not available for M-series Macs. However, besides Parallels Desktop for Mac you still have another option in��,��which has also updated its virtualisation software to support the Apple Silicon chips in the latest Mac generation.

The post Parallels Desktop for Mac 18 review appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• Always on Top
• Awake
• Color Picker
• FancyZones
• File Explorer add-ons
• Image Resizer
• Keyboard Manager
• Mouse Utilities
• PowerRename
• PowerToys Run
• Shortcut Guide
• Video Conference Mute

Whether or not you like to tinker with the way your computer’s software works, you might find that Microsoft PowerToys can make some serious (and simple) improvements.

PowerToys is a constantly expanding assortment of settings and tools for Windows 10 and 11 which isn’t fleshed out enough to come preinstalled with the operating system. Many of its features are based on free, open source software or come from volunteer contributors, and are credited as such where appropriate.

These features are tweaked and added to regularly, but you might encounter a few bugs and limitations.

How to download and install Microsoft PowerToys

PowerToys is only available from GitHub, a Microsoft-owned website where developers share free and open-source software or code. To download it, go to and click Releases on the right side of the page.

Select Assets to expand a drop-down menu, then click on the .exe file to��download it, which will be named something like “PowerToysSetup-0.56.2-x64.exe”.

Once the download finishes, open the file and follow the installation steps.

After it’s installed, it should automatically run, as well as power up when your computer starts from now on. When active, it can be found by expanding the system tray in the bottom right of your desktop’s taskbar.

Always on Top

When PowerToys is active, pressing Ctrl + Start key + T will pin the active window so it’s always on top of other programs. The pinned window has a coloured border, which you can disable or visually edit. You can also disable the pin/unpin notification sounds.

Individual apps can be excluded from this feature, which means they can’t be pinned – it doesn’t mean they override pinned windows.

Awake

Awake lets you override the sleep settings for your display. But given you can also do most of the same things from within the Windows settings menu, it’s not one of the more useful PowerToys tools.

Color Picker

Color Picker lets you copy colours from an active app into your clipboard by pressing Shift + Start key + C. Left-click to copy the colour or scroll up to zoom in on the area for a pixel-perfect selection. Up to 20 colours can be saved to the clipboard at once, but they disappear with a computer restart or if you clear your clipboard.

Color Picker will also give you the value of a colour as you hover your mouse over it or after you’ve copied it. The default colour value is displayed in HEX (used commonly in visual editors such as Photoshop or GIMP), but you can set it to others such as RGB, CMYK, decimal, and more.

FancyZones

FancyZones is possibly the most popular feature of PowerToys. It lets you customise your own snap-to window arrangements beyond the standard left/right or corner placement that Windows 10 and 11 use by default, as well as how snapping works.

There are several pre-made arrangements, and you can make your own using the Canvas or Grid creation styles. We advise using Grid where possible, as Canvas breaks if you adjust your display size settings.

Every screen in a multi-display setup can have its own individual settings and you can create zones that span multiple displays.

You can assign a shortcut that lets you quickly switch between screen layouts depending on the task at-hand. The default is��Ctrl��+��Start key��+��Alt, along with the number you’ve assigned to an arrangement.

You can also switch active windows within an arrangement using��Start key��+��Page up���ǰ���Start key��+��Page down.

By default, you have to hold down Shift while dragging a window to activate the snapping feature. But you can disable this, meaning all you need to do is drag and drop a window into any zone.

And you can tweak the visual style, adjusting the opacity and colour of the interface, as well as the amount of space between zones and thickness of the highlighted border around an active zone.

File Explorer add-ons

File Explorer add-ons is a bit of a misnomer. Right now, all it does is allow file previews for a wider range of filetypes. Some of the filetypes, such as .pdf, can already preview without PowerToys, but enabling it via PowerToys makes it look slightly cleaner.

On top of doing it in PowerToys, you need to activate previews within Windows File Explorer. Open any folder and click View, then Preview pane.

You can also enable thumbnail previews for these filetypes, like you already get with image files, when the folder view is set to Large or Extra Large icons.

Image Resizer

This lets you move and resize images en-masse. Select a group of image files then right-click and select Resize pictures. Copies of the originals will be created in the size you specified (e.g. 854 x 480 pixels).

There are three resizing styles: Fill, Fit and Stretch. Fill completely fills the image space and crops out whatever doesn’t fit. Fit will get as close as possible without cropping the image (e.g. a 1000 x 200 image will be resized to 854 height, with a proportional width), and Stretch will completely fill the space, but stretch the image proportions without cropping any content.

Resizing images also gives you the option of removing all metadata that doesn’t affect image rendering, killing two birds with one stone if privacy is a priority.

By default, new copies of the original images are generated, along with a tag on the end to indicate what image size you selected – e.g. “image01 (Small).jpg”. You can change this formatting to include actual pixel dimensions of the new image, or you can set it to modify and save over the original images, rather than create new copies.

Keyboard Manager

Keyboard Manager lets you remap keyboard keys or system shortcuts. If your Enter key is broken, you can rebind it to right shift (assuming you predominantly use left shift). A numpad key can become a media play/pause button, the screenshot shortcut (Start key + Shift + S) can be remapped to dictation, and more.

Unfortunately, buttons dedicated to Windows shortcuts, such as a screenshot or emoji button, can’t be remapped without changing the shortcut they’re based on.

Some keyboard buttons can’t be remapped by PowerToys at all. For example, the Logitech MX Keys Mini keyboard has two buttons for lowering or increasing the backlight underneath the keys. These keys don’t interact with Windows, so PowerToys can’t detect them. In this particular instance, these two keys can be remapped using Logitech software, but this won’t necessarily be the case with every keyboard.

It seems you can’t remap keys to act as mouse buttons via PowerToys for now, which could be useful for some medical needs. For that, you’ll need a separate program such as .

Mouse Utilities

Mouse Utilities has three features: Find My Mouse, Mouse Highlighter, and Mouse Pointer Crosshairs.

If you ever find yourself shaking your mouse to try and locate the cursor, Find My Mouse is the answer. Once PowerToys is installed, it’s on by default. Press��Left Ctrl��twice (or change it to��Shake your mouse) and the screen will darken everywhere except for a spotlight around your cursor. You can exclude apps individually or have it deactivate while in Game Mode.

Mouse Highlighter��leaves a coloured dot wherever you click, with different colours for the right and left buttons. The next time you click, the dot moves. You can adjust the fade duration and delay of the dot, as well as its colour, radius and opacity. Activate and deactivate Mouse Highlighter by pressing��Start key��+�����󾱴ڳ���+��H.

Mouse Pointer Crosshairs��creates screen-spanning vertical and horizontal lines, centred on your cursor. The thickness, colour, opacity and borders can all be adjusted. Unfortunately, the crosshair doesn’t follow the cursor when using Windows’ built-in screenshot feature, which would make it much more useful. Toggle the crosshair on and off via����ٰ�����+����������+��P.

PowerRename

PowerRename can rename files, folders and subfolders en-masse, as long as the original files have identical sections of their name. This is particularly useful for image files you’d like to collate, such as photos from a holiday. For example, a large group of photos might all begin with “IMG” or “DCMI”. It essentially does a find-and-replace, similar to the Word feature.

The new filenames can be generated based on the file creation date, using a large number of formats. But it can’t select files based on date and time data, which is limiting.

To use PowerRename, select the files and folders you’d like to rename, right-click on any of them, then select PowerRename. To edit the renaming format, click the (i) symbol to the right of the “Replace with” text field.

A note before using PowerRename: some users report it can break files if your Windows File Explorer isn’t set to display file extensions. To enable this, open any folder and click View, then make sure File name extensions is ticked.

PowerToys Run

This is a juiced-up version of the Windows search bar for power users. Press Alt + Space and start typing. You’ll get the regular Windows search results, as well as running processes and various administrator commands.

The vast majority of people will get by fine by pressing the Start key to activate Windows search when looking for files, folders and programs. But PowerToys Run does one important thing Windows search doesn’t: it uses your default web browser for online searches, instead of only Microsoft Edge.

Shortcut Guide

This is a quick way of checking some Windows shortcut commands. Press Start key + Shift + / to open the cheat sheet. Make sure you mentally add the Start key to any of the shortcut commands or they won’t work.

If you think you’ll forget the shortcut for the Shortcut Guide, you can set it so that holding down the Start key will open it.

Video Conference Mute

This tool creates global shortcuts for muting and unmuting your camera, microphone or both. In this instance, “muting” your camera means turning off the video feed.

Video conferencing apps generally have shortcuts for these functions built-in, but the commands differ from program to program. Having one set of universal commands means you always know what to press.

The post How to customise Windows with PowerToys appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• Our expert testers
• Considerations when testing
• How we test desktop antivirus protection
• How we test mobile antivirus protection

Here’s how our tech experts look at both desktop and mobile antivirus software to find out which programs are best at keeping your devices protected.

Our expert testers

We collectively use professional labs in Europe that specialise in security software. As security software is available worldwide, ����Vlog joins with our sister consumer organisations worldwide to test desktop security software. Sharing costs and specialist expertise helps us test as many programs as possible to the depth that’s required, using dedicated test labs in Europe.

We choose software that’s available in Australia when displaying test results, and product pricing is sourced using the product’s Australian website wherever possible with prices in Australian dollars (or converted to Australian dollars where necessary).

Considerations when testing

To make sure we have an even playing field when testing, each software product is updated to the latest version available at the time of testing. The malware samples used for the performance tests are the same for all products and the tests are performed at the same time for all of them.

Testing is done using a freshly installed and updated version of Windows 10 or macOS. For Windows testing, Google Chrome is used as the default Web browser, but with its built-in URL filters (anti-phishing, anti-malware) disabled and without signing in to Google.��For macOS, Safari is used but with its built-in URL filters disabled. Each test computer includes the latest version of Office, Acrobat Reader VLC, Firefox and 7zip.

How we test desktop antivirus protection

Ease of use score

Our assessment takes into account:

• the installation, configuration and normal day-to-day use of the product
• the clarity and simplicity of the user interface
• built-in and online user help such as guidance, help menu and options
• ease of keeping the software up to date.

Protection score

This portion of the test includes:

• on-demand scanning, both connected to and disconnected from the internet
• real-world protection, using known malicious websites including so-called drive-by websites, plus malware infections from connected media such as a USB flash drive
• current malware detection, which includes the speed at which software is updated to address emerging threats
• URL protection, which includes blocking online malware, especially phishing websites such as false banking and social media sites
• firewall effectiveness
• alerts and quarantine.

System impact score

This is the result of assessing the software’s use of disk space and memory, plus its effect on boot time and common tasks such as program launch and use, file copying and file compression and decompression.

Testing criteria explained

Overall score

The overall score is made up of:

• protection (65%)
• ease of use (25%)
• system impact (10%).

How we test mobile antivirus protection

All mobile security apps are tested by specialist independent security test lab . Tests are conducted in a worldwide unique, fully-automated Android test system and use the latest smartphones.

Scoring is based on how well the app protects from malware and takes into account system impact – its effect on device speed, memory use and battery consumption, plus other features.

Testing includes on-demand scanning, invoked by a user at any time, and dynamic detection, which identifies and remedies malware as it occurs. Tests are run while simulating typical real-world user activities such as installing apps and launching websites, plus usage of everyday apps such as Adobe Reader and YouTube.

Testing criteria explained

Overall score

The overall score is made up of:

• protection (50%)
• system impact (50%).

The protection score covers how effectively the app shields the device from malicious software (malware). The system impact score reflects the extent to which running the software affects overall performance (a higher score is better).

The post How we test security software appeared first on ����Vlog.

Sick of websites asking permission to notify you of some such thing or another? You can disable these notification requests, either across the board or from certain websites only.��

The method is similar in most browsers, as the majority are all based on Google’s Chromium architecture. For this reason, we’ll focus on the two biggest Chromium browsers: Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Mozilla’s Firefox browser is the only major contender to differ from the pack (Apple Safari notwithstanding, thanks to its surprisingly small user base).

Google Chrome

In Chrome, click the��three vertical dots��in the top right of the window, then click��Settings. Scroll down to “Privacy and security” and click on��Site Settings.��Scroll down to “Permissions” and select��Notifications.��At the top of the page, there are two toggles:

1. Sites can ask to send notifications.
2. Use quieter messaging (blocks notification prompts from interrupting you).

Turning off the first option blocks any website from prompting you to allow notifications, ever.��

Keep in mind this includes websites such as Google Calendar, Evernote and other organisational tools. So you’ll need to set these websites individually to allow notifications via Chrome settings if you want them.

The second option isn’t visible if the first is turned off. It still allows initial requests for notifications, but will eventually block them if you ignore multiple requests from the same site. It will also block requests from sites whose users typically don’t allow notifications.

You can also allow or block individual sites from this page. Scroll down the page and websites are separated into two categories: Block and Allow.��

In either section, click the Add and enter a website in the pop-up field, then click Add again. To edit the status of a blocked or allowed website, click the three vertical dots to the right of it.��

• Allow – for blocked sites, click Allow to move it to the Allow category.
• Block – for allowed sites, click Block to move it to the Block category.
• Edit – edit the URL of the website.
• Remove – removed websites won’t have a blocked or allowed status.

If there is a different icon to the right of an allowed or blocked website (i.e. no three vertical dots), it might be allowed or blocked by a browser extension. You will need to edit this status through the extension’s settings or by removing the extension.

You won’t get notifications after you ignore multiple notifications from a site, or if other users typically don’t allow notifications from a site.

Microsoft Edge

Click on the three horizontal dots in the top right of the window and select Settings.��

In the top left of the new screens, click on the three horizontal lines, then select Cookies and site permissions.��

Click Notifications and, at the top of the page, click the toggle next to Ask before sending (optional).��

This will enable or disable websites’ ability to ask permission to send notifications.

You can also block or allow individual websites.

In the Block or Allow sections, click Add and enter a web address, then click Add again.��

To edit a website’s permissions, click the three horizontal dots to the right of it and select one of the following:

• Allow – for blocked sites, click Allow to move it to the Allow category.
• Block – for allowed sites, click Block to move it to the Block category.
• Edit – edit the URL of the website.
• Remove – removed websites will have neither a blocked nor allowed status.

Mozilla Firefox

Click the��three horizontal lines��in the top right of the window, then select��Options.��

In the new screen, click the��padlock icon��to the left (labelled “Privacy & Security” when moused over) and scroll down to the Permissions section.��

To the right of “Notifications”, click������ٳپ��Բ���…

To disable all notification requests, tick Block new requests asking to allow notifications at the bottom of the pop-up window and then Save Changes.

You can also allow or block notifications from individual websites. To add new websites to the blocked or allowed list, type their URL in the search field toward the top of the pop-up window.

You can switch a website’s status between blocked and allowed using the drop-down to the right of its URL. Or you can remove it from the list altogether by single-clicking on the URL and then clicking��Remove Website. Don’t forget to click��Save Changes��on your way out.

The post How to disable annoying browser notification requests appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• Windows 11 system requirements
• Windows 11 new user interface
• Windows widgets sidebar
• The new Microsoft app store
• Touch enhancements

Windows 11 is here, but you might not get it right away, even if you want to. The roll-out, which started in early October, will take several months. New PCs will start coming with Windows 11 first, while Windows 10 updaters might have to wait till early 2022.

You might remember Microsoft’s promise that Windows 10 would be the “last version of Windows”. Well, not quite. You can keep Windows 10 going till 2025, but you’ll eventually need to get Windows 11. But it’s not all bad��– upgrading will be free if you have a compatible computer with Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) installed.

Windows 11 has a fresh look, fresh sounds, an updated user interface, a range of new features, and perhaps most exciting of all, only one major update per year, among other things.��

But there are conditions for entry – the hardware requirements leave behind a surprising number of quite-capable computers.

We downloaded a preview build to get some hands-on experience with what you might be able to expect once it’s officially available to all. We’ve left off commenting on current instability and other pre-build issues that are usually ironed out before a market release.

Windows 11 system requirements

The minimum device requirements for Windows 11 are controversially restrictive, thanks largely to which computer processing units (CPUs) Microsoft considered eligible.��

CPUs older than the Intel Core 8th generation or AMD Ryzen 2000 series are unsupported. This makes almost every chip made prior to 2018 – as well as some weaker, but newer CPUs – redundant come the shutdown of Windows 10 in 2025. Some notable exceptions are high-end Intel 7th generation chips, such as the Surface Studio’s Intel Core 7820HQ, but they’re few and far between.

Originally, Microsoft’s justification focused on Windows 11’s reliance on TPM (trusted platform module) 2.0 – a security feature implemented at the hardware level in computer chips. Older chips that support previous versions of TPM don’t make the cut.

After vocal pushback in the media and from users, the company performed additional testing but claims the older CPUs are also prone to crashing and numerous bugs when running Windows 11, so the cut-off remains.

What you need

Windows 11 needs significantly more minimum storage space – 64GB compared to Windows 10’s 20GB (for 64-bit).��

You might think this increase of 44GB might not make much difference in an age of terabyte (TB) storage. But many low and mid-range laptops still ship with a meagre 128GB of storage.��

Taking into account the space used for Windows itself and programs, plus space set aside for recovery, this leaves those devices with less than half their nominal storage capacity.

Other minimum specifications include:

• 4GB RAM
• 720p HD display resolution
• 9-inch display (horizontal)
• a graphics card compatible with DirectX 12 or later
• UEFI secure boot enabled/capable.

Users of Windows 11 Home edition, which will be most people, need an internet connection and a Microsoft account to install and set up the operating system.

The good news is you don’t need to be a computer whiz to figure out if your PC will work with Windows 11.����for Windows 10 looks at your system specs and lets you know.

Windows 11 new user interface

The look

At first glance, Windows 11’s new look might seem like a fair deviation from what Windows users have come to expect, but most of the cosmetic touches are easy to get used to or can be changed to a more familiar layout.

Microsoft swapped out the sharp-edged look of Windows 10 for rounded corners and smooth sliding animations.

Gone are its infamous Live Tiles in favour of more traditional app icons, some of which received subtle updates while others remain unchanged.

Some overlays now employ a fogged glass look, and the settings menus have undergone a substantial revamp.

Perhaps the most eye-catching change is the centred taskbar, but it can be returned to a left-hand alignment for those who prefer it.

If your own first impressions have sparked thoughts of Apple’s macOS, iOS and iPadOS operating systems, don’t expect this to fade with use.

There are a lot of visual design crossovers, sometimes even feeling like certain elements were pulled straight from the Apple design book.

But despite its makeover, it’s still Windows through and through. It probably won’t take much time to be as comfortable with the basics of this user interface as you were with Microsoft’s previous releases.

Snap Layouts

Snap Layouts lets you quickly arrange windows in various configurations, rather than the standard left/right or, on larger screens, quarter-sized snapping of Windows 10. There are only six options right now, but there’s nothing to say this feature couldn’t expand.��

Note the snap arrangements featuring three side-by-side windows are only available on screens with 1920 horizontal pixels (such as 1080p) or more. They also disappear if you increase your display scaling too high compared to your resolution.

To use Snap Layouts, hover the mouse cursor over a program’s minimise/maximise button to view the options. Select the section of your chosen arrangement and your window will snap to the corresponding spot on your screen, after which you can select other currently-running programs to fill the gaps.

Once you’ve arranged your windows, they automatically become a Snap Group.��

Snap Groups minimise or maximise as a single unit, letting you easily switch between other groups or programs. Right now, a single window can’t be part of more than one snap group.

Some Windows 10 users might already recognise this kind of custom grid layout from programs such as Dell’s proprietary Display Manager for its monitors or from the Microsoft PowerToys feature, FancyZones.

Display Manager and FancyZones have more layout configurations than Snap Layouts, either by default or through creating your own. But given Display Manager’s reliance on Dell hardware, and FancyZones’ status as one of Windows 10’s esoteric (and not pre-installed) PowerToys, Snap Layouts is far more easily accessible to most people.

Virtual desktop backgrounds

Virtual desktops have received some limited but welcome attention in Windows 11. Aside from the standard UI tweaks seen across the whole OS, you can now set different wallpapers per virtual desktop.

This isn’t the trivial addition it might seem. Setting virtual desktops for different tasks can be a great boost to productivity, and also keep your work and personal lives separate. Knowing which desktop you’re on at a glance, thanks to its wallpaper, can save you filling your entertainment space with work tasks and other complicated projects, or vice versa.

Those who work from home might also enjoy switching desktops as a clocking-off ritual if there’s a clear visual cue to back it up.

Unfortunately, you can’t change colour and light/dark themes per virtual desktop – it’s just background images for now.

Windows widgets sidebar

Microsoft has added a Widgets sidebar, which slides out from the left of the screen. Widgets are small interactive panels that show regularly updated information such as news, weather, sport results, your to-do list, and more.

You can add or remove widgets, resize and reorder them, and personalise the news feed section.

Options are currently limited to those made by Microsoft. Third-party widgets might become available in time, but there’s no guarantee developers will take advantage of this feature, if Microsoft even allows it.

As far as how useful they are, it’s so-so. And not just because the selection is spartan.��

The side panel slides out when you click the Widgets icon in the taskbar (or swipe your finger inwards from the left side of the screen on touch devices), but disappears when you click outside the panel or use another program, meaning you can only view your widgets while directly interacting with the Widgets sidebar.

This is in contrast to how Android, iOS and iPadOS successfully employ widgets, which can sit on the home screen of a phone or tablet alongside other standard app icons, or how the Windows 10 program Rainmeter allows you to place widgets on your desktop.��

Persistent widgets such as those on Android, iOS, iPadOS and Rainmeter allow you to view their information at-a-glance, rather than opening a side panel that doesn’t stick around.

The new Microsoft app store

Calling the Windows 10 Microsoft Store disappointing wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Microsoft had lofty goals for its app store/media store/gaming platform/themes hub, but it never took off.��

Developers found it difficult to create a Microsoft-approved “app version” of their Windows 10 software. And given they could simply release it the old-fashioned way, designed however they like and without needing to pay income percentages to Microsoft, why bother with the app?

But the tech giant isn’t ready to say die just yet. The new and improved Microsoft Store – also coming to Windows 10 – will make it easier for developers to create compatible software. More importantly, if they use their own payment platforms, or that of a third party, Microsoft won’t touch a cent.

Some big names are already on board. Adobe Creative Cloud, Disney+, TikTok, and Zoom are locked in. And Microsoft will be releasing its own apps such as Visual Studio, Notepad, and the ever-popular Paint, with more likely to come.

Android Apps for Windows 11

Speaking of apps, a range of Android apps will be available on and compatible with Windows 11, thanks to a partnership with Amazon. You can discover eligible Android apps via the new Microsoft store and acquire them via the Amazon Appstore.

The Amazon Appstore is an alternative to the Google Play store for Android apps. It has a smaller range than Google Play, but there are still many options available.

Touch enhancements

Microsoft’s approach to touchscreens for Windows has been uneven at best. Significant improvements have been made since its initial big tablet push with the best-forgotten Windows 8 Live Tile focus, but given the proliferation of Windows 10 hybrid devices, tablets and 2-in-1s that rely on touch to varying extents, it’s long overdue for additional attention.

Windows 11 uses the same gestures for touch as it does for trackpads, such as a three-finger downward swipe to minimise all windows followed by a three-finger upward swipe to reverse it. You can also open your task view and switch between virtual desktops with multi-finger swipes.

It’s easier to snap windows using touch thanks in part to Snap Layouts – when you drag a window to the side of your screen while holding the device in portrait mode, it snaps to the top or bottom, rather than splitting the screen lengthways into two long, thin slivers.

When you fold away or remove a keyboard, your computer automatically enters touch-friendly mode with larger, spaced-out Taskbar icons – previously you had to manually switch between desktop and tablet modes. They’ve also increased the size of the hit boxes around windowed programs, which makes them easier to resize with a fingertip.

Regular Windows 10 touchscreen users will have some gesture re-learning to do. For example, swiping in from the left side of the screen now opens the Widgets panel, rather than showing your task view, whereas swiping in from the right side used to open the notification centre and action centre. In Windows 11, the notifications are still there but are condensed, and the action centre has been replaced by a calendar view.

The post Windows 11 hands-on preview appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• How to uninstall Adobe Flash
• How to uninstall Internet Explorer
• How to enable IE mode on Edge
• How to remove outdated desktop programs

Not only is outdated software often useless, it can also be dangerous to have installed on your computer. Programs that can access the internet, directly or via other programs, need regular security updates to keep ahead of enterprising hackers. Once those updates stop, your PC is wide open to certain kinds of attacks.

Many apps don’t prompt you to update them. That, or you might casually click “Ignore” every time you’re prompted (we’ve all done it). This is a sure-fire way to create vulnerabilities on your PC.

If you have older apps you haven’t updated in a while, have a look around in their menus and see if there’s an update available. Some apps or software might have been discontinued and should be removed entirely.

Why you should remove Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash was once the video player technology of choice the web over, but those days are done. Adobe ended support for Flash in December 2020 and not just because of declining popularity. It was more resource-intensive than modern alternatives and was already often flagged as a security risk before being put out to pasture. Apple ditched it years ago and most major modern web browsers actively block it by default.

But Adobe Flash lives on in a dormant state within the storage drives of many PCs. The good news is that it’s easy to uninstall.

The only downside might be that interactive features of some older and neglected websites won’t work anymore. But if they’re still running on Flash, you don’t want to be using them anyway.

How to uninstall Adobe Flash

Adobe released a special . After visiting the link and downloading the uninstaller, exit all browsers and other programs that use Flash. To be sure, just close all the apps you have open.

To run the uninstaller, go to your default downloads folder (most likely Quick access > Downloads) and double-click on the file uninstall_flash_player.exe. If you can’t find the file in your Downloads folder, press the Start key and type “uninstall_flash_player.exe” to locate it.

Follow the prompts and click��Yes��if asked to allow the uninstaller to make changes on your computer.

�����������Uninstall��and then��Done. Once the program closes, restart your computer.

Once your computer reboots, you should check if the below folders exist and, if they do,��delete��all files within them. If they’re not there, don’t worry about it.

The folders are:

• ����:�¾��Ի�Ƿɲ�������ٱ�32�Ѳ������dz������������
• C:WindowsSysWOW64MacromedFlash
• %appdata%AdobeFlash Player
• %appdata%MacromediaFlash Player

Some of these folders can be hard to find. The best way to make sure you don’t miss anything is to open Windows Explorer and type the above into the dialogue box one at a time then hit��Enter.

Why you should remove Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer (IE) had a long run, but Microsoft will begin ending all support on 15 June 2022. That means no more security updates, and more and more websites won’t work on its outdated software. Many already don’t. If you’re one of the 5.21% of people – according to netmarketshare.com at the end of 2020 – still using Internet Explorer, it’s time to finally move on.

You can either switch to its replacement, Microsoft Edge, or to a different browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Brave. Edge in particular has an IE mode that lets older, Internet Explorer-dependent websites run within a modern, secure browser.

But removing Internet Explorer isn’t as simple as a regular program uninstall. It’s quite spread out across your system, so you need to disable it from within Windows settings then restart your computer.

How to uninstall Internet Explorer

Go to Settings >��Apps, and then on the left select Apps and features. On the right-hand side, click Programs and Features under “Related settings”. If you can’t see this option, expand the window.

On the left side of the new tab, click��Turn Windows features on or off. Scroll down until you see��Internet Explorer 11��and uncheck the box. �����������OK��and then��Yes��to the warning prompt.

A process box will open. Once it says “Windows completed the requested changes”, click��Restart now��to restart your computer.

How to enable IE mode on Edge

If you do run into an old website that needs Internet Explorer, Edge’s IE mode is easy to enable.

Open Edge and click the … icon in the top and select Settings. Click Default browser on the left and enable Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode by clicking the slider next to it and then restarting the browser when prompted.

To use this feature on a web page that requires IE, from the page select the … icon > More tools > Reload in Internet Explorer mode. If you haven’t enabled IE mode, this option won’t be available.

How to remove outdated desktop programs

Apps that aren’t in some way baked into Windows 10 can usually be uninstalled in the same way.

Press the Start key and type Add or remove programs then select the result.

In the search box of the new page, type the name of the app. Select it and click Uninstall.

While you’re there, scroll through the list of app names and see if there are any you don’t recognise or need.

Java

A once-ubiquitous web browser plugin, Java has had a steady decline after a lifetime of security controversies.��As with Flash, it’s no longer supported by major browsers, so you might as well get rid of it.

Apple QuickTime for Windows

This once hot piece of video software is now out of date and a security risk for Windows 10 users.��It’s still a current and safe app on macOS, but Apple hasn’t supported it on Windows since 2016, leading to critical vulnerabilities.

VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a fantastic media player that’s still supported and its current versions are safe to use. However, it’s not pushy about its updates, so many users have older versions and malicious actors know this.��If you use VLC, open the program, click Help then Check for updates. If you have it but don’t use it, you might as well uninstall it.

WinRAR

WinRAR is an old-school file extraction program, but it’s not needed anymore because Windows has this functionality built in. It’s not so much a security risk as it is an annoyance, as it will regularly prompt you to upgrade from the free to the (unnecessary) paid version.��There are some niche use cases for WinRAR, but if you have one you’d likely already know. You can uninstall it safe in the knowledge that you won’t lose any file extraction capabilities.

uTorrent and BitTorrent

These two torrent programs have developed a bad reputation thanks to security concerns and uTorrent quietly installing its own crypto currency mining software on people’s computers a while back.��You might as well switch to the open source qBitTorrent, which has the added benefit of not having flashing banner ads. And as an open source program, anyone in the community can check if it’s doing anything sneaky in the background of people’s computers.

Any browser you don’t use

Web browsers are famously the biggest weak point on any computer. They use a huge range of technologies and access content from all over the world. If you have older browsers kicking around on your storage drive, you might as well remove them. If not, a guest user might spot their favourite browser and fire it up, not knowing updates are crucially needed.

You can’t uninstall Edge, but you can at least unpin it from your Start Menu and taskbar if you don’t use it.

The post How to uninstall Adobe Flash and Internet Explorer appeared first on ����Vlog.

For decades, Microsoft’s suite of office apps has dominated the productivity space.��

But where you might once have only upgraded your version of Word, Excel and maybe PowerPoint every several years, the newer products are moving towards a subscription model that charges annually and might bundle in extra programs you don’t want or need.

LibreOffice compared to Microsoft Office

LibreOffice is a free suite of apps that will look and feel familiar to Microsoft Office users. LibreOffice apps include analogues for Microsoft’s most famous trio – Word, Excel and PowerPoint – and their features and user interfaces are similar enough that they’re easy and quick to learn.

Most importantly, they can open and edit Microsoft Office documents, as well as save in those formats. Anyone you share your work with should be none the wiser.

The three main LibreOffice apps are:

• Writer (Microsoft Office equivalent: Word)
• Calc (Microsoft Office equivalent: Excel)
• Impress (Microsoft Office equivalent: PowerPoint).

There is also LibreOffice Base for database management, LibreOffice Math for formula editing, and LibreOffice Draw for creating vector graphics and, in a pinch, editing PDF documents.

LibreOffice apps work on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Downsides of LibreOffice

One area where LibreOffice comes up short is cloud tie-ins. Microsoft’s OneDrive offers 1TB (terabyte) of cloud storage and syncing for 365 subscribers, which is designed to work well with its own office apps.��

Some of these tie-ins include simultaneous collaboration on documents and automatic saving and backups for files as you work on them.

If you don’t need large amounts of online storage, there are some free options available. For example, Google Drive will give you 15GB (gigabytes) free of charge to which you can save your LibreOffice files.��

But keep in mind you won’t get the benefits of Drive’s excellent real-time syncing unless you use the Google suite of productivity apps.

LibreOffice apps also look and feel a little previous-generation, and there are small quality of life problems. These include unwieldy menus and missing minor features that are too far down the list of fixes for part-time open source developers to address.��

Lastly, LibreOffice is weak on the mobile side of things. There are some apps available, but they’re by independent developers and vary in quality and functionality.��

For example, the app LibreOffice and OpenOffice document viewer is free on Android, but the similar LibreOffice document viewer is a few dollars on iPhone/iPad.��

The Android app ties in with some cloud services such as Google Drive and Dropbox and lets you edit files from Writer, Calc and Impress. But it takes over your screen with ads and there are obvious formatting errors when viewing some documents.

Alternatively, the Microsoft 365 mobile apps are excellent for productivity on phones and tablets, work very well with OneDrive and other cloud services (minus the ads), and don’t suffer from formatting errors.

LibreOffice Writer vs Word

Word processors are the meat and potatoes of any suite of productivity apps, so LibreOffice Writer is likely the main consideration when skipping out on Microsoft and its ubiquitous processor: Word.

As far as being a replacement for Word goes, Writer feels very similar. It can open and save documents in the Word file format (.docx) or in the OpenDocument Text (.odt) format, which also works with other word processors.

The more casual user will only notice minor niggles with Writer such as difficulties editing copied and pasted URLs, occasionally inaccurate selections when trying to highlight text with a cursor, and limited paragraph spacing options, among others.��

Probably the most frustrating is Writer’s tendency to revert to its default and somewhat dated font – Liberation Serif – at odd times, and its Clone Formatting tool isn’t always totally accurate.

There are also some menu elements placed in slightly harder-to-reach locations, such as footnotes and comments, which require a few more clicks to locate. And the range of fonts is more limited than in Word.

Students and writers for print publications might lament one particular omission: Writer’s word count always includes footnotes, so it’s annoying when dealing with word limits that exempt them. But unlike in Microsoft Word, this can’t be changed.

Professionals will be happy to note LibreOffice Writer’s excellent Track Changes implementation, which displays changes clearly and is easy to use. But it’s harder to see which users made what changes – especially if those users haven’t signed in.

There are also some differences between how styles and templates are implemented between Writer and Word, the importance of which will come down to how and if you use these features.

A word of warning: remember to regularly save your documents. Microsoft Word and other modern word processors such as Google Docs both automatically save as you go.��

If you’ve become used to this, it’s time to dust off old habits and make sure you hit��ctrl��+��S��at regular intervals when using Writer.

LibreOffice Calc vs Excel

Calc is LibreOffice’s answer to Microsoft Excel. Non-experts might be shocked at the depth and breadth of Excel’s full capabilities, and two high-end experts might have completely different sets of niche features they use regularly.��

As a result, it’s difficult to fully compare this kind of spreadsheet app on a professional level because of the number of features, algorithms and functions they support.

But for the average user, Calc is definitely a good, free alternative. You can save and edit Microsoft Excel files, as well as the open-source OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format, among others. The user interface is very close to Excel and its basic features all appear to be there.

Sometimes ����Vlog uses some niche algorithms and functions when managing our intricate and often extensive test data.��Opening those files in LibreOffice’s Calc showed no errors that we could see, nor did making changes and saving them, then opening the edited versions in Excel.

LibreOffice Impress vs PowerPoint

Impress is probably the most different LibreOffice program to its Microsoft cousin, PowerPoint.��But old-school PowerPoint users might not notice much difference between the two programs.��

Once again, the user layout is extremely similar to its Microsoft counterpart, and its suite of basic features is relatively the same.��

But thanks to recent PowerPoint updates, Microsoft 365 subscribers have access to a suite of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered options, design features and pre-made templates that aren’t available in Impress.

For example, PowerPoint has a new feature called Presenter Coach that lets you practice speaking your presentation out loud. The��feature will tell you if you’re talking too fast, saying “um” too much, or mirroring the words on your slides too closely.

PowerPoint Designer is another new Microsoft feature that lets you make detailed graphics in a few clicks, such as changing a list of text into a visual timeline, and provides access to thousands of images and about 175 looping videos, as well as styled templates.

By comparison, Impress is like the bare bones PowerPoint of yesteryear. But if you’re happy making all your slides without the help of AI and an extensive image and video gallery, it’s a solid presentation app.

The post LibreOffice: A free office suite alternative appeared first on ����Vlog.

Despite the PC software market being increasingly dominated by a handful of companies, the range of free programs and services has never been wider or of higher quality.

If you want, you really can go cash-free across your entire PC. But taking a weight off your wallet means making some sacrifices.

Is free software safe?

Before filling your drive with a bonanza of so-called free software, it’s wise to be cautious. Many phone apps turn out to be ad-ridden, sell your data to third parties or sneak malicious software (malware) onto your devices.

The key is to use software from known companies such as the Google office suite – keeping in mind these companies will still make money from you somehow – or you can turn to the Open Source community. But always try to check reviews and comments from other users.

What’s open source?

The Open Source Movement is a loose association of developers who believe in free software and transparency in technology.��

Open source software allows others to access, inspect and copy its inner workings, right down to its core code, so any nasty tricks will quickly be caught out by other members of this passionate community.

Anyone can write and suggest changes to an app then submit them online. If it’s popular or useful enough, the app developers may add it in.��

Downsides of free software

When a large company such as Google creates free software, it’s far from altruistic.��

For example, Google makes money from you by gathering user data for advertising. It’s up to you to decide if you have a problem with this or not. It’s always a good idea to check out a company’s privacy policy and even read the user agreement before installing a new app.

Some paid services offer free versions that come with advertisements. These ads can be short and infrequent, or bombarding. You can usually disable them for a fee, but even with ads, the software should be fully functional.��

The other type of so-called “freemium” software is where some features are only unlocked after payment.

Open source programs generally won’t harvest your data or serve you ads. But they often have fewer features, clumsier user interfaces (UIs) and bugs. Problems can sometimes take a long time to be patched, because the developer may work on it in their free time for no pay.

There’s also stability and quality-of-life (QOL) tweaks. Major software and tech companies have had a long time to work out what people expect from their software.��

Fancy new features might be eye-catching, but what many people really want was once summed up by Apple: “It just works”. Open source developers don’t have the time or resources to equal this level of refinement.

Lastly, free apps, particularly open source ones, tend to look a little old school. This might sound like a nitpick, but if you’re used to the clean-cut designer look of paid software and switch to a program that is less pretty and more utilitarian in design, it can feel like you’ve gone backwards, even if you still have all the features you need.

Free office software

There are plenty of free alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite. The main two are probably the Google apps and LibreOffice. But other options include Polaris, Zoho Workplace, and FreeOffice, among others.

Google office suite

Google has a huge number of apps, but its main office ones are:

• Docs (word processing)
• Sheets (spreadsheets)
• Slides (presentations).

Google’s apps are easy to use and have some of the best online cloud syncing of any program out there. But they don’t play too nicely with Microsoft Office – which can be an issue if you share files with other people.��

You can export files in Microsoft-friendly formats and edit Microsoft files, but it’s definitely not what Google designed its apps for.

Google’s suite is also designed around online use, so you really need good internet access most of the time. Documents can be downloaded for offline access, but this is done on a case-by-case basis, rather than automatically saving them to your storage drive.

LibreOffice

LibreOffice’s main three apps are:

• Writer (word processing)
• Calc (spreadsheets)
• Impress (presentations).

If all you want is a free alternative to the Microsoft mainstays, LibreOffice is probably your best bet.��Its interface looks like something from the late 90s or early 2000s, but you can easily edit and save files in Microsoft’s formats.����

Free PDF readers and editors

There are a lot of free programs that can view and edit PDF files. Some of them are dedicated PDF readers or editors, while others are multipurpose programs that happen to have PDF support built in.

PDF readers

PDF readers let you view PDF files, but allow minimal editing, if any. They also don’t generally allow you to change the filetype, but most let you highlight text and place comments.��

Here are just a few of the free PDF viewers available:

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC has a free version that you can comment on, highlight, sign and print PDFs. But you can’t export into other formats, add passwords or create a PDF from scratch.

The Microsoft Edge web browser is an effective PDF reader/editor. As well as commenting and highlighting, you can draw on documents. It also has a text-to-voice feature that reads documents aloud.

Foxit Reader is a well-provisioned PDF reader that lets you highlight text, comment and write your own text over the top of PDFs, among other things.

Sumatra PDF is an open source PDF reader, but it’s bare-bones, with no commenting or highlighting features.

PDF editors

If you’re looking for a perfect free Windows PDF editor alternative to Adobe Acrobat Standard DC ($18.69/month), Acrobat Pro DC (21.99/month) or other paid professional programs, you’re out of luck. But there are some less-than-perfect options.

Two of the most popular are the open source LibreOffice Draw and Inkscape. These are graphics and diagram programs that have some PDF editing and creation features built in.��

They’re not as task-oriented as premium PDF editors, and their user interfaces are less user-friendly. But given the price of professional alternatives, they’re worth considering.

Free music

Music streaming services often have a free subscription tier, which sometimes comes with ads and a more limited set of features.��

Spotify, Deezer, SoundCloud, and Idagio (for classical music), all have free tiers.��

Bandcamp offers some free music with the option to purchase more. iHeartRadio lets you listen to various radio stations as well as stream from artists on demand. And there are other radio apps such as ABC listen and BBC iPlayer.

Free video streaming

Free video streaming services are few and far between.

YouTube: You might be surprised at the amount of TV-style content on YouTube these days, especially if you’re after travel, cooking, interview or lifestyle shows. And Australian TV networks post news updates on their own YouTube channels.

Free-to-air TV: Each major Australian TV network has its own app for live content and catch-up streaming of shows you might have missed. These episodes only stay on their apps for a limited time, however.

Tubi TV: If you don’t mind B- (or C or D) grade movies, or enjoy the occasional old-school classic, then try out Tubi TV, a free streaming service similar to Netflix or Stan.

Don’t use free VPNS

It’s best to avoid free virtual private networks (VPNs). VPNs require permissions that allow them deep into your operating system, so it’s an effective way to load malware and other nasties onto your device. Stick with paid, trusted providers.

But there is one option you can pursue: TOR. Short for The Onion Router, TOR is a global network of encrypted, anonymous servers. It’s safe to use and keeps your traffic and identity private, even from the servers it travels through.��

You can download the TOR browser for free on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. It’s slower than the average paid VPN, but is probably the safest way to get VPN-style security for free.

Free image and video editing

Free image and video editors have come a long way. For anything short of hardened professionals, you shouldn’t need to look too far.��

Some free image editors include:

• GIMP
• Photo POS Pro
• Darktable
• Snappa
• Canva
• Inkscape.

Looking for more programs? Check out our free image editing program picks for every experience level.��

Some free video editors include:

• OpenShot
• Shotcut
• HitFilm Express
• DaVinci Resolve.

Free antivirus and malware protection

Paid cyber security services offer better protection than free ones, but there are some good free options out there – usually trimmed back versions of the paid ones.

Windows 10 Defender, which comes with Windows 10, is a very good security suite. Be sure to check out our antivirus software reviews for other free antivirus software.

Use Linux for a free operating system

Most modern computers come with an operating system (OS) pre-installed, but if you need an OS upgrade and don’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars for Windows 10 Home, you can turn to a free Linux distribution (distro).

Getting started on Linux is easier than ever, but there are more Linux distros such as Mint, Elementary OS, Manjaro, and many others.��If you’re considering switching to Linux, shop around to see which distro will work for you.��

For example, you might want to look up which most closely mirrors the user interface of Windows 10 or macOS. You might want the most hassle-free distro or one with a large user base so you can find answers quickly for any trouble you run into.

Many of the free programs we’ve mentioned also work on Linux, especially the open source ones. When free software is coupled with a no-cost OS, you really can free your digital life.

Free backup services

Free cloud backup and local backup programs tend to lack encryption, automation, notifications and certain types of backup. As with antivirus services, they tend to be free versions of paid programs.

If you’re going to use free backup software, first get an idea of the kind of backup you want to do and the features you want. Then see if any free options match your needs.

You also have the option of saving important files to free online cloud storage services such as Google Drive (15GB free), Dropbox (2GB free) or Microsoft OneDrive (5GB free).

The post Can you use only free apps and software? appeared first on ����Vlog.

It’s probably no surprise that an operating system (OS) as vast and multipurpose as Windows 10 has features you don’t use and haven’t heard of. But its need for broad appeal also means a lot of them are niche, at best. On top of that, Microsoft releases a major Windows 10 update every six months.

With all these features and regular changes, how is the regular person supposed to find something useful amid the noise? Let’s take a look at what changed in 2020 and cover some of Windows’ more versatile virtues.

Windows 10 updates from 2020

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft’s old Edge browser is out and the new one is in. The new browser – also called Edge, but built on Google’s Chromium architecture – looks almost identical to its predecessor at a glance, but will be easier for developers because almost every other major browser is also Chromium-based. The only exception is Mozilla’s Firefox.

Look for the new logo to see if yours has updated, and if you’re still using Internet Explorer, it’s time to move on. That browser was discontinued years ago and is no longer protected from cyber attacks.

The new Edge brings with it a Collections feature that lets you save information from various websites in one location then export it to Pinterest, Excel, OneNote or Word.��

Exporting the information automatically pre-fills product names, brands, prices and links. It’s not perfect, often missing some information, but filling in the gaps yourself is still faster than starting from scratch.

Virtual desktops

Virtual desktops now save between restarts. Previously, your virtual desktops would disappear whenever you rebooted your PC, as would any app-specific settings. You can also now rename them from their default “Desktop 1”, “Desktop 2”, etc.

If you’ve never played with virtual desktops, the way they work is simple. Open apps and programs in whatever arrangement you want. Switching to a different one will make it look like none of these programs are running, even though they’re still live in the background.

It’s a fast and easy way to separate different uses for your computer (work, study, personal) without needing to manage opening, closing or minimising a large number of programs and files.

If you want the same app open in multiple virtual desktops, click the virtual display icon then right-click on an app. For an app and all its windows to open on all desktops, click��“Show windows from this app on all desktops”.��

If you only want that one window, such as a single Word document, select “Show this window on all desktops”.

Cortana

Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana has had a massive overhaul. Instead of a voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI), it’s become a typing based system that looks more like a messaging app. It’s also moved away from its consumer roots and is now all about business.

The switch to typing makes sense. These days, just about every Cortana-enabled device has a keyboard and, given it’s awkward talking to your computer in a busy office, a typing focus is a good way to go. But Cortana has also lost some of its personality along the way.��

For example, typing “Hi Cortana” receives a reply of “Sorry, I can’t help with that.” And when it can do what you ask, its responses lack the human touches of Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant. But this more efficient style of communication works well with the new business angle.

Other features such as the Cortana Notebook and connected home control are also gone.

Some of the things you can do with Cortana are:

• set reminders in Microsoft To Do, which pop up as Windows notifications
• create and check events in your Outlook calendar
• join a current meeting booked in your Outlook calendar
• check the weather
• do basic web searches
• open some apps.

General tips and tricks

Cloud Clipboard

Windows 10 lets you copy text on one device and paste it to another, as long as both are signed into the same Microsoft account.��

To set it up, go to the Start menu, then System, and select Clipboard. Turn on “Clipboard history” and enable “Sync across devices”.��

To paste copied text on another device, open the clipboard view (Start/Windows key + V) and select text from there.

This only works for text – images can’t be synced this way.

Launch apps via the Start key

Press the Start key and begin typing the name of an app or program. Results will update as you type, and as soon as your app is at the top of the list, hit Enter to launch it.

It’s so fast and easy that you might find you stop using your desktop shortcuts, taskbar and Start menu for anything other than file and folder access.

Force a second window

Most programs let you open multiple windows, but some apps refuse to double up. In a handful of these cases, such as with OneNote, you can use hotkeys to force more windows to open.

In the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, starting from the icon to the right of Virtual Desktops, count from left to right. Press the Start key + shift + 5 to open a second window of the fifth app along, Start key + shift + 7 for the seventh, up to Start key + shift + 0 for the 10th.

You can leave out the shift (e.g. Start key + 5) to open apps that aren’t already open or minimise/maximise ones that are.

Minimise it all

To minimise all open programs at once, left click and hold on the title bar of any app as if you were going to drag it, then shake the cursor. To bring everything back, shake the cursor again without letting go of the left mouse button.

You can also press Start key + D.

Easy screenshots

Press Start key + shift + S to take a screenshot. The default mode is a rectangular area select, but you can also choose freeform area select, window snip (to capture the window you hover the cursor over) or fullscreen.

Screenshots will pop up as notifications and you can access them via the action centre (bottom right icon of your main display).

Quick dictate

Press Start key + H to enter voice dictation mode. If not already set up, Windows will prompt you to do so.

Quickly access settings

Right click on the Windows icon (Start menu) in the bottom left of your desktop to jump straight to a range of settings menus such as Apps and Features, Device Manager, and Network Connections, among others.

Control which apps run in the background

Plenty of apps and programs keep running even once you’ve closed them. You can usually disable this in each app’s settings menu, but there’s a faster way.

Go to Settings then Privacy and select Background apps to control the background permissions on each app. You can also disable background apps completely, but you might find this affects how your computer works.

Apps on startup

Controlling which apps start up when your PC does can make a big difference to how long it takes to boot up and how smoothly it runs.��

Some apps will launch every time you boot your PC – and they’re often in the background so you might not even notice. This slows down how long it takes your computer to boot up and the added background usage can tax your hardware.

Launch the Task Manager (ctrl + shift + esc) and click the Startup tab along the top. Each app has a status column and another for its startup impact. Anything with its status set to Enabled will launch when Windows does. To disable, right click and select Disable.

To help you decide, the startup impact will give you an idea of the effect each app has. If in doubt, leave it alone so you don’t disable something important.

Storage Sense

Storage Sense periodically deletes temporary files, empties your recycle bin, and removes files in your downloads folder.��

You can also configure it to select when it runs, and adjust the type of things it deletes (by default it doesn’t delete files from your Downloads folder).��

OneDrive users can set OneDrive files to become online-only after they haven’t been used for a certain period of time.

To activate and manage Storage Sense, go to Settings then System and select Storage to toggle on Storage Sense.

Night light

Screens emit blue light that can make it hard to fall asleep. But Windows has a night light mode that reduces your screen’s blue output, casting a warm tinge over the display.��

You can schedule this feature to automatically turn on between certain hours and you can set the intensity of the effect.

Press the Start key, type Night light��and hit Enter to manage this setting.

Interested in blocking blue light? Find out if blue light blocking glasses actually work.

Dark mode and colour highlights

The default white background for Windows settings and file explorer can be harsh on the eyes, especially late at night. Switching to dark mode gives your eyes a rest.

From the Start menu, select Personalization and then Colors on the left-hand side. Under “Choose your default app mode”, click Dark. Alternatively, if you’d prefer things were actually a bit brighter, set “Choose your default Windows mode” to Light, which will affect your Start menu and taskbar.

On the same screen, you can edit your accent colour. This affects small highlights such as coloured boxes when you mouse over certain UI elements or the default colour for Start menu tiles. There are tick boxes below the highlight options to make this colour appear in more places.

Your Android phone on Windows

You can view notifications, respond to text messages and make or answer phone calls (if your computer has Bluetooth) by syncing your Android phone with Windows 10.��

On your phone, download the “Your Phone Companion – Link to Windows” app from the Google Play store. The app name changes occasionally, so be sure yours is made by Microsoft Corporation. Open the app and follow the prompts to get started.

The app was recently updated to run multiple Android apps from some phones simultaneously on your Windows PC. To do this, just click on the Apps option on the left-hand side of the Windows 10 Your Phone app on your PC.��

If you don’t see that option, your Android phone probably isn’t compatible.��

The post Windows 10 tips and tricks appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• What is Tails?
• Tails and online privacy
• Tails security
• Portability
• How to install Tails
• Getting started on Tails
• Built-in apps

Enter Tails: a Linux distribution (think operating system) focused on privacy and security.��

What is Tails?

The name Tails is an acronym for The Amnesic Incognito Live System. It’s famously (infamously?) the secure OS of choice of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.��

But much like with virtual private networks (VPNs), which also protect your privacy and provide security, Tails has plenty of legitimate uses.

Unlike other operating systems (OSes), Tails doesn’t use your computer’s internal storage. Instead, it runs��directly off a USB key and uses your computer’s RAM (memory). This means everything is wiped clean when you remove the USB key or shutdown or restart your computer.��

You can save files to the USB key, which are then heavily encrypted. How much you can save depends on your USB stick’s storage capacity.

Tails has a wide-enough range of built-in apps that the average user shouldn’t find themselves wanting, but its cumbersome privacy and security measures mean it isn’t a replacement for a day-to-day OS such as Windows or macOS. It’s for more specific-use cases that can vary from person to person.

Tails and online privacy

A huge amount of what you do online is tracked by at least one, if not multiple parties. Websites follow your IP address and leave cookies that track your browsing across multiple sessions.��

Persistent logins such as Google, Facebook or browser accounts can record your every move, then sell that information. And governments, both domestic and foreign, have the ability to snoop on your activities for their own purposes.

You can use a VPN to hide your activity, but Tails goes further.��

Every internet application built into Tails connects via the Tor network, which bounces your data through three (out of thousands) relays across the world, none of which have the whole picture of who you are and what you’re doing.��

Any traffic not routed via the Tor network is blocked by Tails, which further protects your privacy by making it hard for apps and malware to broadcast data without your knowledge.

The downside is the internet runs a bit slower, but we found Tails’ built-in Tor connection felt faster than using Tor on another OS such as Windows and not too much slower than a good VPN.

Tails security

Tails’ list of security features is long and, at times, excruciatingly niche. But to drastically simplify things, many of its measures make sure no-one can install anything on your computer long term without your knowledge.��

And, if they do, it’s unlikely any malware will be able to send any personal information back to malware makers or other parties.

The most notable facet is blunt and brutal. Tails erases every stored file that doesn’t come with the OS by default every time you restart or turn off your computer, taking any potentially compromised files with it. And you have zero chance of reclaiming them.

If you want to save files between sessions, you need to set up a special encrypted persistent folder, into which you must transfer those files before shutting Tails down.

You also need to adjust certain settings every time you log on, and even if you save certain downloaded apps as persistent, that only means they’ll be automatically downloaded the next time you start up Tails.��This means large programs are cumbersome to use regularly.

Portability

Because your OS and everything else is saved to a single USB, you don’t need to carry a computer around with you – as long as there’s a computer with a USB port where you’re headed that was manufactured within the last 10 years or so.

This has advantages for professionals or travellers who are always on the go, especially if you’re travelling in hazardous locations where you’re worried about device theft or confiscation.

How to install Tails

The Tails installation process has many steps, but the website has easy-to-follow, detailed instructions. But even though the instructions are comprehensive, it’s useful to know a few things beforehand.

From the , click Get Tails in the top menu bar to get started.

What you need to install Tails:

• An 8GB (preferably larger) USB stick
• Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later, Linux
• An internet connection
• A second connected device.

For a normal install, you need at least an eight gigabyte (GB) USB stick. But we recommend a bigger one, as any long-term file storage will be kept on the USB stick and not your computer.

You’ll also need a second device to follow the website’s instructions to the end. This is because, at some point, your computer is going to be occupied setting up the Tails USB, and the last part of the set-up is done from your computer’s boot menu.��

A smartphone or tablet is fine, and you can also print the instructions if need be.

We found the website’s installation time estimate of one and a half hours to be overblown. For us, it was only about 30 minutes from clicking download to firing up a fully-functioning Tails OS.

Downloading Tails

When following the steps, after you select the operating system you’re using to create a Tails USB, you’ll be prompted to download Tails (about 1.2GB), either as a direct download or via BitTorrent.��

BitTorrent is the fastest and most secure method, so if you have a torrent manager we advise taking this option – it only took us about six minutes on an NBN Standard Plus (50/20) plan.��

Direct download will also work, but could take between one and two hours, even on a fast internet connection.

Installation

If installing from Windows, you need Windows 7 or later. Macs need macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later.

Whether using Windows or macOS, the Tails instructions tell you to download a program called Etcher. This is a safe and easy-to-use piece of software, so go ahead and follow the link provided on the website.��

The instructions for how to use Etcher seem long, but they’re accurate and not too complicated.

Boot options

After you’ve created the Tails USB, it’s time to restart your computer (with the Tails USB plugged in). For Tails to work, your computer needs to boot from the USB instead of its own storage drive. It won’t do this by default, so you have to tinker with boot settings.��

The menu system for doing this might be called a Boot Menu, BIOS, or UEFI, depending on your computer. While your computer is restarting, somewhere on the screen it will tell you to press a button to load one of these options. The key to activate this menu will be different based on the computer.��

Often, it’s one of the F keys (such as F2 or F8), but it might be the Delete key or something else. It’s usually a good idea to press it a few times to make sure it registers. If you miss your opportunity and the computer boots up normally, just restart it and try again.

Once your Boot Menu/BIOS/UEFI interface loads, you’ll need to find a setting that lets you specify what drive the computer boots from. If you can’t find it in the settings, use your second device to do a web search for how to adjust boot preferences on your specific computer.

Find your USB key among the list of boot drives and move it to the first position – its device name will likely be either its brand or model. If the USB stick’s name is displayed twice with slight variations, put both at the top of the list.��

From now on, the computer will boot from the USB when it’s available, but will boot from the next drive on the list when it’s not.

You’re unlikely to mess up anything by changing these settings, and you can always load this menu again and change things back to how they were if something goes wrong.

Save your changes and restart the computer. It should now boot up Tails instead of your normal OS.

Getting started on Tails

Startup

When Tails starts up, it displays a greeting window. Here, you can make several settings changes, but keep in mind that every time you start Tails up, all these settings will revert to their defaults and you’ll need to change them again.

From this window, you can choose the��Language, Keyboard Layout, and date��Formats. Change the language to��English – Australia��and the other two should automatically adjust.

Before continuing, you should familiarise yourself with the��Additional Settings��section at the bottom of the window by clicking the “+” icon.

Administration Password is a crucial setting even for casual users. For security, most Linux distros don’t let you install software without typing in an admin password.��

On Tails, this password is deactivated by default, which means you can’t install anything because there’s no password to enter. It’s an added layer of security that stops people installing malware on your Tails system remotely.��

But it also means you need to create an Administration Password when you start up Tails if you want to install software.��

To do so, click Administration Password and create a password in the provided fields, then click Add. This password won’t persist between sessions. Every time you boot up Tails, you’ll need to enable Administration Password and pick a password.

Mac Address Spoofing isn’t important unless you don’t trust the owner of your local network. It creates a false device identity, so any local users won’t be able to identify your computer.��

But it also might mean you can’t connect at all if your local network operator, such as an IT department, only allows pre-approved devices.

Network Configuration has three options:

1. ��The default allows you to connect to the internet.��
2. The second (Configure a Tor bridge or local proxy) is for use in locations where connecting to the Tor network is illegal – it’s perfectly legal in Australia.��
3. The third disables all networking, allowing you to work completely offline.

Unsafe Browser is the only app in Tails that doesn’t access the internet via the Tor network, so it’s a significant security weak point.��

Only enable this option if the Tor browser can’t do something, such as signing into a public Wi-Fi network with a unique user ID, which is common in hotels and airports.

A bit of patience

Tails can take a while to start up. This is because it needs to establish a connection to the Tor network before you can do anything online. Be patient and eventually you should be notified when the connection is established.

Persistent volume

By default, Tails deletes all files whenever it shuts down. But you can create a folder called Persistent, which will encrypt and save anything in it, using the available space on your USB key.��

To enable persistent volume, click on Applications in the top left of the desktop. Then mouse over Tails and click Configure persistent volume on the right. Create a secure password (which will persist between sessions) and follow the prompts.��

Restart Tails when prompted. You’ll need to enter your persistent volume password via the greeting screen each time you start Tails. This is separate from the Administration Password.

User interface

The Tails user interface (UI) might look familiar to Windows or macOS users and it’s very similar to Linux distros such as Ubuntu.

Launch apps by clicking the��Applications��menu in the top left of the screen and use the pop-out category menus, or open the full list by clicking��Activities Overview.��

You can also hit the��Start key��on a Windows keyboard and type the name of an app, then press��Enter��or select it from the list. Desktop apps are opened by double-clicking.

To browse files, open the��Files��app. The folder layout works the same as other OSes, except for the Tor and Tor (Persistent) folders.

Built-in apps

Tails has an impressive array of built-in free apps configured to work securely and effectively.

The LibreOffice suite is included, along with options for visual, audio and video editing, email, publishing, media playing and more, plus the Tor Browser for web browsing.

Installing new apps is done via the Synaptic Package Manager or the terminal. This can be a bit of a hassle, and only apps that can connect to the Tor network will have internet access.

Downloading from the web

The web browser is usually the most vulnerable app on any computer, as it can visit sites worldwide and interfaces with many software technologies that can be used to break your security, download malicious files or steal your information.

To deal with this last issue, Tails will only download files from the Tor browser into the Tor folder, which is a protected folder isolated to stop malware worming its way into the rest of your system.��

If you’ve set up a persistent volume, you can download files you want to keep into the Tor (Persistent) folder.��Once you’ve downloaded a program or file, you can then move it to a different folder if you wish.

The post How to install and use the Tails operating system appeared first on ����Vlog.