The Minimize the number of simultaneous connections to the Internet or a Windows Domain policy setting determines if a computer can have multiple connections to the Internet or to a Windows domain. If multiple connections are allowed, it then determines how network traffic will be routed.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable minimize the number of simultaneous connections to the Internet or a Windows Domain on the computer in Windows 10.
Starting with Windows 10 build 17763.404, Microsoft added a new Group Policy setting called Enable Windows to soft-disconnect a computer from a network. This determines how Windows will disconnect a computer from a network when it determines that the computer should no longer be connected to the network.
If this policy setting is enabled or not configured, Windows will soft-disconnect a computer from a network when it determines that the computer should no longer be connected to a network.
If this policy setting is disabled, Windows will disconnect a computer from a network immediately when it determines that the computer should no longer be connected to a network.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Windows 10 to soft-disconnect a computer from a network.
In Windows 10, there are two power models for PCs: S3 and Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle). The S3 power model is an older standard and is not capable of the instant on that consumers expect from modern devices. Modern Standby is capable of leveraging all the capabilities of a modern chipset and can be integrated across the breadth of tablets and PCs today. The first iteration of Modern Standby was Connected Standby, which first shipped in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Modern Standby expands upon the Windows 8.x Connected Standby concept, allowing more flexibility in component selection.
Windows 10 Modern Standby (Modern Standby) expands the Windows 8.1 Connected Standby power model. Connected Standby, and consequently Modern Standby, enable an instant on / instant off user experience, similar to smartphone power models. Just like the phone, the S0 low power idle model enables the system to stay up-to-date whenever a suitable network is available.
Although Modern Standby enables an instant on/off user experience like Connected Standby, Modern Standby is more inclusive than the Windows 8.1 Connected Standby power model. Modern Standby allows for market segments previously limited to the S3 power model to take advantage of the low power idle model. Example systems include systems based on rotational media and hybrid media (for example, SSD + HDD or SSHD) and/or a NIC that doesn’t support all of the prior requirements for Connected Standby.
Modern Standby systems can be connected or disconnected to Wi-Fi or a wireless local area network (WLAN) while in standby. This behavior is dictated by the hardware and/or by configuration.
Connected Modern Standby will allow you to stay connected to Wi-Fi while in standby to still receive and get notifications about email, VoIP calls, and such, but it will use more battery.
Disconnected Modern Standby will allow longer battery life, but you will no longer have the advantages of staying connected to Wi-Fi while in standby.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Wi-Fi network connectivity while in Modern Standby in Windows 10.
In Windows 10, there are two power models for PCs: S3 and Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle). The S3 power model is an older standard and is not capable of the instant on that consumers expect from modern devices. Modern Standby is capable of leveraging all the capabilities of a modern chipset and can be integrated across the breadth of tablets and PCs today. The first iteration of Modern Standby was Connected Standby, which first shipped in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Modern Standby expands upon the Windows 8.x Connected Standby concept, allowing more flexibility in component selection.
Windows 10 Modern Standby (Modern Standby) expands the Windows 8.1 Connected Standby power model. Connected Standby, and consequently Modern Standby, enable an instant on / instant off user experience, similar to smartphone power models. Just like the phone, the S0 low power idle model enables the system to stay up-to-date whenever a suitable network is available.
Although Modern Standby enables an instant on/off user experience like Connected Standby, Modern Standby is more inclusive than the Windows 8.1 Connected Standby power model. Modern Standby allows for market segments previously limited to the S3 power model to take advantage of the low power idle model. Example systems include systems based on rotational media and hybrid media (for example, SSD + HDD or SSHD) and/or a NIC that doesn’t support all of the prior requirements for Connected Standby.
Modern Standby systems can be connected or disconnected to Wi-Fi or a wireless local area network (WLAN) while in standby. This behavior is dictated by the hardware and/or by configuration.
Connected Modern Standby will allow you to stay connected to Wi-Fi while in standby to still receive and get notifications about email, VoIP calls, and such, but it will use more battery.
Disconnected Modern Standby will allow longer battery life, but you will no longer have the advantages of staying connected to Wi-Fi while in standby.
This tutorial will show you how to check if Modern Standby is set to be connected or disconnected to Wi-Fi while in standby in Windows 10.
When you type a web address or domain name into your address bar (example: www.tenforums.com), your browser sends a request over the Internet to look up the IP address for that website.
Traditionally, this request is sent to servers over a plain text connection. This connection is not encrypted, making it easy for third-parties to see what website you’re about to access.
DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) works differently. It sends the domain name you typed to a DoH-compatible DNS server using an encrypted HTTPS connection instead of a plain text one. This prevents third-parties from seeing what websites you are trying to access.
DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is a protocol for performing remote Domain Name System (DNS) resolution via the HTTPS protocol. A goal of the method is to increase user privacy and security by preventing eavesdropping and manipulation of DNS data by man-in-the-middle attacks by using the HTTPS protocol to encrypt the data between the DoH client and the DoH-based DNS resolver. Encryption by itself does not protect privacy, encryption is simply a method to obfuscate the data. As of March 2018, Google and the Mozilla Foundation started testing versions of DNS over HTTPS.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable DNS over HTTPS (DoH) in Firefox for your account in Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.
If you mapped a network drive to automatically connect at sign-in, you will get a Could not reconnect all network drives notification at sign-in from the AutoPlay service if Windows is unable to connect to the network drive for any reason.
Often when this happens, you will just need to open the mapped network drive to have it connect making this notification unnecessary or annoying if this message is always appearing at every sign-in.
This tutorial will show you how to disable the Could not reconnect all network drives notification at sign-in for all users in Windows 10.
DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is a protocol for performing remote Domain Name System (DNS) resolution via the HTTPS protocol. A goal of the method is to increase user privacy and security by preventing eavesdropping and manipulation of DNS data by man-in-the-middle attacks by using the HTTPS protocol to encrypt the data between the DoH client and the DoH-based DNS resolver. Encryption by itself does not protect privacy, encryption is simply a method to obfuscate the data. As of March 2018, Google and the Mozilla Foundation started testing versions of DNS over HTTPS.
Starting with Google Chrome 78, you can enable DNS-over-HTTPS via a new Secure DNS lookups command line flag.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable DNS over HTTPS (DoH) in Google Chrome for your account in Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.
The Hosts file is used by the operating system to map human-friendly hostnames to numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses which identify and locate a host in an IP network. The hosts file is one of several system resources that address network nodes in a computer network and is a common part of an operating system’s IP implementation.
The Hosts file contains lines of text consisting of an IP address in the first text field followed by one or more host names. Each field is separated by white space (Tabs are often preferred for historical reasons, but spaces are also used). Comment lines may be included, and they are indicated by a hash character (#) in the first position of such lines. Entirely blank lines in the file are ignored.
This tutorial will show you how to block websites for all users on the computer using the Hosts file in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
The Hosts file is used by the operating system to map human-friendly hostnames to numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses which identify and locate a host in an IP network. The hosts file is one of several system resources that address network nodes in a computer network and is a common part of an operating system’s IP implementation.
The Hosts file contains lines of text consisting of an IP address in the first text field followed by one or more host names. Each field is separated by white space (Tabs are often preferred for historical reasons, but spaces are also used). Comment lines may be included, and they are indicated by a hash character (#) in the first position of such lines. Entirely blank lines in the file are ignored.
If the Hosts file is changed from default, resetting it can help resolve some connectivity issues.
See also: How to reset the Hosts file back to the default | Windows Support
This tutorial will show you how to reset the Hosts file back to default in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
By default, Windows Update in Windows 10 will automatically download and install updates, except on metered connections where extra charges may apply. In that case, Windows Update will automatically download only those updates requited to keep Windows running smoothly.
If wanted, you are able to allow Windows Update to automatically download updates over metered connections.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Windows Update to automatically download updates over metered connections in Windows 10.
You can connect your phone and computer to get texts, photos, and more on your PC. Link the Your Phone app on your PC with Your Phone Companion to get started.
With Your Phone Companion, you can easily sync your Android phone to your Windows 10 PC for instant access to everything you love on your phone, right on your PC. Text messages can be found with ease, and you can finally stop emailing yourself photos.
Starting with Windows 10 build 18908, you can now sync your photos, messages, and notifications over mobile data without having to connect your Android phone to the Wi-Fi network.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off sync over mobile data in the Your Phone Companion app on your Android phone with the Your Phone app on your Windows 10 PC.
A network based on a Domain provides centralized administration of the entire network from a single computer which is called a server. A Domain provides single user login from any computer connected to that network within the network perimeter. Users are allowed (or restricted) to access resources depending upon the permissions they have.
By default, local user accounts are not shown (enumerated) on the sign-in screen on domain-joined computers. Only domain accounts will show on the sign-in screen by default on domain-joined computers.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable showing all local users on the sign-in screen on a domain joined Windows 10 PC.
You can turn your Windows 10 PC into a mobile hotspot by sharing your Internet connection with other devices over Wi-Fi. You can share a Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or cellular data connection.
When you turn off mobile hotspot, you can turn on or off to allow another device to turn on mobile hotspot remotely on your device when it connects to the mobile hotspot.
Both devices must have Bluetooth turned on and be paired to turn on mobile hotspot remotely.
This tutorial will show you hoe to enable or disable allowing another device to turn on mobile hotspot remotely on your Windows 10 PC.
You can turn your Windows 10 PC into a mobile hotspot by sharing your Internet connection with other devices over Wi-Fi. You can share a Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or cellular data connection.
When you turn on mobile hotspot, you can turn on or off a power saving feature that will automatically turn off mobile hotspot in five minutes when no devices are connected.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically turn off mobile hotspot when no devices are connected in Windows 10.
OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service that comes with your Microsoft account. OneDrive is integrated into Windows 10 where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive from any PC, tablet, or phone.
Once you set up OneDrive and have it running, OneDrive will automatically sync your chosen files and folders with your PC.
Starting with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you can manually pause syncing of files and folders on OneDrive as needed.
By default, Windows 10 will automatically pause sync when the device is on a metered Ethernet or metered wireless network.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically pause OneDrive sync when on metered network for your account in Windows 10.
Offline Files is a feature of Sync Center that makes network files available to a user, even if the network connection to the server is unavailable.
Users can use offline files (if enabled) to make their network files always available offline to keep a copy of the files stored on the network on your computer. This allows users to work with them even when they are not connected to the network or a server is unavailable. The next time the user connects to the network or the server is available, their offline files on your computer will automatically sync to the network files on the server to update.
This tutorial will show you how to set or unset network files as always available offline for your account in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
Offline Files is a feature of Sync Center that makes network files available to a user, even if the network connection to the server is unavailable.
Users can use offline files (if enabled) to make their network files always available offline to keep a copy of the files stored on the network on your computer. This allows users to work with them even when they are not connected to the network or a server is unavailable. The next time the user connects to the network or the server is available, their offline files on your computer will automatically sync to the network files on the server to update.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable offline files for all users on the computer in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
A metered connection is an Internet connection that has a data limit associated with it. Cellular data connections are set as metered by default. Wi-Fi and Ethernet network connections can be set to metered but aren’t by default.
When Sync settings is turned on, Windows syncs the settings you choose across all your Windows 10 devices that you’ve signed in to with your Microsoft account.
The settings you choose to sync are also saved in OneDrive (cloud).
You can choose to sync your theme, passwords, language preferences, Ease of Access, and Other Windows settings settings. If you turn on Other Windows settings, Windows syncs some device settings (for things like printers and mouse options), File Explorer settings, and notification preferences. For a complete list of settings that Windows can sync, see Windows 10 roaming settings reference.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable syncing Sync your settings when on metered connections for all users in Windows 10.
Windows Remote Assistance lets someone you trust, such as a friend or technical support person whom you have contacted, take over your PC and fix a problem from wherever they are.
Remote Assistance is enabled by default in Windows, so you may want to disable Remote Assistance when not needed since it can be a security risk.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable allowing Remote Assistance connections to your Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 computer.
File sharing over a network in Windows 10 allows you to share files and folders on your computer with other users over a private or public network in your workgroup or domain.
You can set the permissions of a shared file or folder to allow groups or users to have a read only, change (modify), or full control access rights.
Starting with Windows 10 version 1803, some features of file sharing over a network have changed, including the removal of HomeGroup. However, even though HomeGroup has been removed, you can still share printers and files by using features that are built into Windows 10.
This tutorial will show you how to backup and restore network shares and permissions in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.