To help protect your PC and keep it running smoothly, Microsoft recommends only installing apps from the Microsoft Store. You can choose where you can get apps from and if you want to see app recommendations when you try to install an app from outside of the Microsoft Store.
The Application Installation Control feature let’s you choose to get apps from:
This tutorial will show you how to choose where apps can be installed from for all users in Windows 11.
Microsoft redesigned the Microsoft Store from the ground up in Windows 11, making space for more content, keeping the user experience simple and responsive. It will help you discover and install the best apps, games, movies and even special offers – like unique movie discounts for Xbox Game Pass members. All the content in the Microsoft Store is tested for security, family safety and device compatibility.
If you are having issues with installing or updating apps from the Microsoft Store in Windows, it may be caused by an issue with the Microsoft Store cache.
This tutorial will show you how to clear and reset the Microsoft Store cache for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
This tutorial will show you how to create a desktop shortcut to open an app from the Microsoft Store for your account in Windows 11.
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protects against phishing or malware websites and applications, and the downloading of potentially malicious files.
By default, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protects your device by checking web content that Microsoft Store apps use.
You can turn on or off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for Microsoft Store apps in Windows 11.
On = Warns users that the sites and downloads used by Microsoft Store apps are potentially dangerous but allows the action to continue.
Off = Turns off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, so a user isn’t alerted or stopped from visiting sites or from downloading potentially malicious apps and files.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for Microsoft Store apps for your account in Windows 11.
The Open with context menu allows you to choose an app to open a file with by default.
When you open the Open with context menu and click/tap on Choose another app, you can select Look for an app in the Microsoft Store in the Open with dialog and click/tap on OK to have the Microsoft Store app open to select and install an app you want to open the file type with.
If you prefer to not have Look for an app in the Microsoft Store in the Open with dialog, you can remove it.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Look for an app in the Microsoft Store in the Open with dialog for all users in Windows 11 and Windows 10.
When Windows backup is turned on, Windows backs up the settings you choose across all your Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices that you’ve signed in to with your Microsoft account.
If you turn on Remember my apps, Windows will remember the apps you have installed and help you restore them from Microsoft Store on your new devices. This setting is not available for work or school accounts, and Windows does not remember your apps for work or school accounts.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off Remember my apps for your Microsoft account across all your Windows 11 devices you sign in with the same Microsoft account.
Windows Update Delivery Optimization helps you get Windows updates and Microsoft Store apps more quickly and reliably.
Windows Update Delivery Optimization works by letting you get Windows updates and Microsoft Store apps from sources in addition to Microsoft, like other PCs on your local network, or PCs on the internet that are downloading the same files. Delivery Optimization also sends updates and apps from your PC to other PCs on your local network or PCs on the internet, based on your settings. Sharing this data between PCs helps reduce the internet bandwidth that’s needed to keep more than one device up to date or can make downloads more successful if you have a limited or unreliable Internet connection.
When Windows downloads an update or app using Delivery Optimization, it will look for other PCs on your local network (or from the internet, depending on your settings) that have already downloaded that update or app. Windows doesn’t download the entire file from one place. Instead, the download is broken down into smaller parts. Windows then gets parts of the update or app from the PCs that have it, and parts from Microsoft. Windows uses the fastest, most reliable download source for each part.
Delivery Optimization creates a local cache, and stores files that it has downloaded in that cache for a short period of time.
Delivery Optimization can’t be used to download or send personal content. Delivery Optimization doesn’t access your personal files or folders, and it doesn’t change any files on your PC.
Delivery Optimization downloads the same updates and apps that you would get through Windows Update and Microsoft Store, using the same security measures. To make sure you’re getting authentic updates, Delivery Optimization gets information securely from Microsoft to check the authenticity of each part of an update or app that it downloads from other PCs. The authenticity of the downloads is checked again before installing it.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off allow downloads from other PCs for Delivery Optimization in Windows 11.
Microsoft redesigned the Microsoft Store from the ground up in Windows 11, making space for more content, keeping the user experience simple and responsive. It will help you discover and install the best apps, games, movies and even special offers – like unique movie discounts for Xbox Game Pass members. All the content in the Microsoft Store is tested for security, family safety and device compatibility.
If the Microsoft Store app doesn’t open, hangs, or not working correctly, then re-registering it will usually fix the issue.
This tutorial will show you how to re-register Microsoft Store app for your account or all users in Windows 11.
Microsoft redesigned the Microsoft Store from the ground up in Windows 11, making space for more content, keeping the user experience simple and responsive. It will help you discover and install the best apps, games, movies and even special offers – like unique movie discounts for Xbox Game Pass members. All the content in the Microsoft Store is tested for security, family safety and device compatibility.
This tutorial will show you how to manually check for app and game updates in the Microsoft Store for your account in Windows 11.
Cortana, your personal productivity assistant, helps you stay on top of what matters and save time finding what you need. Simply type or speak requests in natural language to connect with people, manage your schedule, find a free hour, set a reminder, add a task, and more. You can also find local information, get definitions, and keep track of the latest news, weather, and finance updates.
With the Windows 10 May 2020 Update version 2004, you now have access to a new Cortana experience that offers an emphasis on productivity, helping you quickly find the information you want across Microsoft 365. Cortana in Windows 10 features a chat-based UI that gives you the ability to interact with Cortana using your voice or the keyboard.
Cortana in Windows will assist you in better managing your schedule and tasks. You can speak or type requests to check your calendar, set a reminder, or add to your lists in Microsoft To Do. And you can look up local information, get definitions, and keep track of the latest news, weather, and finance information with Bing search.
This tutorial will show you how to install or uninstall Cortana for your account or all accounts in Windows 10 May 2020 Update version 2004 and higher.
By default, each account on the computer has a Downloads folder located at C:\Users\(username)\Downloads.
Starting with Windows 10 build 19536, Microsoft is working on adding Downloads folder to your Privacy Settings options.
If an administrator account allow access to the Downloads folder for your device, users will be able to choose if their apps have access to their Downloads folder. If an administrator account denies access, all apps that are available in the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 will be blocked from accessing any user’s Downloads folder.
If a user allows apps access to their Downloads folder, they can choose which specific apps can access their Downloads folder. If a user denies access, apps that are available in the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 will be blocked from accessing their Downloads folder.
This tutorial will show you how to change Privacy settings to allow or deny apps access to the Downloads folder for all users or only your account in Windows 10.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a new Windows 10 feature that enables you to run native Linux command-line tools directly on Windows, alongside your traditional Windows desktop and modern store apps.
When you have Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) enabled, you can install WSL distro apps from the Microsoft Store, and import WSL distros.
This tutorial will show you how to install and setup Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distro apps from the Microsoft Store for your account in Windows 10.
The Microsoft Store app in Windows 10 offers various apps, games, music, movies & TV, and books that users can browse through, purchase, or get for free to download and install for their Microsoft account in Windows 10 PCs and devices.
If you like, you can use a group policy that turns off the launch of all apps from the Microsoft Store that came pre-installed or were downloaded. Apps will not be updated. The Microsoft Store app will also be disabled.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the ability to open apps from the Microsoft Store for all users in Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education.
AppLocker helps you control which apps and files users can run. These include executable files, scripts, Windows Installer files, dynamic-link libraries (DLLs), packaged apps, and packaged app installers.
Packaged apps are also known as Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps from the Microsoft Store or already included with Windows 10.
This tutorial will show you how to use AppLocker to block running specified Microsoft Store apps for all or specific users and groups in Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education.
You can easily use an URL link for an app to open it in the Microsoft Store online in your web browser, but what if you wanted to directly open the app to its page in the Microsoft Store app in Windows 10?
You can create a link that launches the Microsoft Store and goes directly to your app’s listing page without opening a browser. These links are useful if you know your users are on a Windows device and you want them to arrive directly at the listing page in the Microsoft Store app.
This tutorial will show you how to create a shortcut of an app that will directly open the app’s listing page in the Microsoft Store app without opening a browser in Windows 10.
One of the many benefits of having a Microsoft account is a family group, which gives you access to family features and settings. It’s a free service that helps families stay connected and keeps kids safer on Windows 10, Xbox One devices, and Android devices running Microsoft Launcher. You’ll find settings like activity reporting, screen time limits, location sharing, and content filters, where you can also track kids’ spending and add money to their Microsoft accounts.
A Microsoft family group is separate from other Microsoft apps and programs. You can sign up with your email account. If you already use Skype, you’ll have a family chat set up and waiting for you once you create your family group. If you don’t already have Skype, get more information and sign up to create an account for your family.
Once you set up your family group, you can add or remove child and adult members.
The content filters you set determine what your child can get from the websites they visit, which games they can play, or whether they need adult approval to buy from the Microsoft Store. Content filters include three settings: Ask a parent; Apps, games & media; and Web browsing. You set the rules, and you decide when to break them. Like with screen time, your child can send you exception requests for content that you can respond to through email or on account.microsoft.com/family.
You can require adult approval for the things your child wants to buy in Microsoft Store, except what they get with gift cards or money in their Microsoft account. Even when Ask a parent is turned off, you’ll still approve content that exceeds the age limit you set in the Apps, games & media section.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off Ask a parent for a child member in your Microsoft family group to require adult approval to buy things in the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 and Xbox One devices.
Microsoft has added a new Push To Install service on June 6, 2018 to the Microsoft Store online website for a feature called Install on my devices that allows you to remotely install apps you own with your Microsoft account from the Microsoft Store online website to any of your Windows 10 devices that you also sign in to with the same Microsoft account.
If you like, you can configure a group policy setting to enable or disable if users will be able to push Apps to this device from the Microsoft Store running on other devices or the web. If disabled, users will still be able to go through the process to remotely install apps from the Microsoft Store online to this PC, but the app will not actually get installed.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the Push To Install service for users to remotely install apps from the Microsoft Store online website to this Windows 10 PC.
Microsoft has added a new feature on June 6, 2018 to the Microsoft Store online called Install on my devices that allows you to remotely install apps you own with your Microsoft account from the Microsoft Store online website to any of your Windows 10 devices that you also sign in to with the same Microsoft account.
This tutorial will show you how to remotely install apps you own from the Microsoft Store online to any of your Windows 10 devices.
Windows Update Delivery Optimization lets you get Windows and Store app updates from sources in addition to Microsoft. This can help you get updates and apps more quickly if you have a limited or unreliable Internet connection. And if you own more than one PC, it can reduce the amount of Internet bandwidth needed to keep all of your PCs up-to-date. Delivery Optimization also sends updates and apps from your PC to other PCs on your local network or PCs on the Internet.
You can choose to download updates only from Microsoft, Microsoft and PCs on your local network, or Microsoft and PCs on your local network and internet.
Delivery Optimization works in two ways.
Download updates and apps from other PCs
In addition to downloading updates and apps from Microsoft, Windows will get updates and apps from other PCs that already have them. You can choose which PCs you get these updates from:
PCs on your local network. When Windows downloads an update or app, it will look for other PCs on your local network that have already downloaded the update or app using Delivery Optimization. Windows then downloads parts of the file from those PCs and parts of the file from Microsoft. Windows doesn’t download the entire file from one place. Instead, the download is broken down into smaller parts. Windows uses the fastest, most reliable download source for each part of the file.
PCs on your local network and PCs on the Internet. Windows uses the same process as when getting updates and apps from PCs on your local network, and also looks for PCs on the Internet that can be used as a source to download parts of updates and apps.
Send updates and apps to other PCs
When Delivery Optimization is turned on, your PC sends parts of apps or updates that you’ve downloaded using Delivery Optimization to other PCs on your local network, or on the Internet, depending on your settings.
If you like, you can set a policy to specify the download method that Delivery Optimization can use in downloads of Windows Updates and Microsoft Store App updates. When you specify a download mode, it prevents choosing a download method for Delivery Optimization in Settings.
This tutorial will show you how to specify a download mode for Delivery Optimization of Windows and Microsoft Store app updates in Windows 10.
Startup items are the apps, shortcuts, folders, drivers, etc… that are set to run or open automatically at startup when a user signs in to Windows.
This tutorial will show you how to automatically run UWP or Microsoft Store apps at startup for your account in Windows 10.