Zipped (compressed) files take up less storage space and can be transferred to other computers more quickly than uncompressed files. In Windows, you work with zipped files and folders in the same way that you work with uncompressed files and folders. Combine several files into a single zipped folder to more easily share a group of files.
The Compress to ZIP file menu item is available on the file/folder context menu, File Explorer command bar menu, and Send To context menu by default.
This tutorial will show you how to remove the Compress to ZIP file context menu for your account, specific users, or new users in Windows 11.
A .vbs file is a Virtual Basic script written in the VBScript scripting language. It contains code that can be executed within Windows via the Windows-based script host (Wscript.exe), to perform certain admin and processing functions.
VBScript is a legacy Scripting engine component, and Microsoft does not recommend using this component unless it is really required. Use this component at your own risk, this might contain security vulnerabilities.
Starting with Windows 11 build 25309, you can now uninstall the VBScript feature.
This tutorial will show you how to install or uninstall the VBScript optional feature for all users in Windows 11.
The Microsoft Edge web browser is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. With speed, performance, best in class compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in privacy and security features.
Visual Search lets you quickly explore more related content about entities in an image in Microsoft Edge.
You can hover on an image in Microsoft Edge to see the hover menu that offers convenient, contextual options for Visual Search and to discover, save, and explore content while browsing.
You can also right click on an image in Microsoft Edge to use the Visual Search context menu.
You can turn on or off Show Visual Search in context menu if wanted.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the Visual Search context menu in Microsoft Edge for your account or all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The Microsoft Edge web browser is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. With speed, performance, best in class compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in privacy and security features.
Visual search lets you quickly explore more related content about entities in an image in Microsoft Edge.
You can hover on an image in Microsoft Edge to see the hover menu that offers convenient, contextual options for Visual Search and to discover, save, and explore content while browsing.
You can also right click on an image in Microsoft Edge to use the Visual Search context menu.
You can turn on or off to Show hover menu on image hover, and add or remove sites to have the hover menu turned off for.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the Visual Search hover menu in Microsoft Edge for your account or all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
When User Account Control (UAC) is enabled, Windows prompts for consent or prompts for credentials of a valid local administrator account before starting a program or task that requires a full administrator access token. The UAC prompt mitigates malicious software running under elevated credentials without the user or administrator being aware of its activity.
The User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users security policy setting determines the behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users. You can select one of the UAC prompt behaviors below to be used for standard users:
This tutorial will show you how to change the User Account Control (UAC) prompt behavior only for standard users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Windows includes a hidden built-in Administrator account that serves as the local system administrator with elevated rights by default without needing Run as administrator or UAC (User Account Control) for elevation approval.
When User Account Control (UAC) is enabled, Windows prompts for consent or prompts for credentials of a valid local administrator account before starting a program or task that requires a full administrator access token. The UAC prompt mitigates malicious software running under elevated credentials without the user or administrator being aware of its activity.
The User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account policy setting determines the behavior of Admin Approval Mode for the built-in administrator account. When the Admin Approval Mode is enabled, the local administrator account functions like a standard user account, but it has the ability to elevate privileges without logging on by using a different account. In this mode, any operation that requires elevation of privilege displays a prompt that allows the administrator to permit or deny the elevation of privilege. If Admin Approval Mode isn’t enabled, the built-in Administrator account runs all applications by default with full administrative privileges. By default, Admin Approval Mode is set to Disabled.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable User Account Control (UAC) for the built-in Administrator account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a companion operating system installed alongside Windows 11, typically in a separate partition, that can help with troubleshooting, recovery, or booting from external media, such as a USB stick.
Advanced startup enables you to perform these actions:
When you boot to advanced startup, all user sessions are signed off. If you select a Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) feature from this menu, the PC restarts into WinRE and the selected feature is launched.
If you boot into Advanced startup often, then you could add Boot to Advanced Startup to the desktop context menu to make it easier.
This tutorial will show you how to add Boot to Advanced Startup to the desktop context menu for all users in Windows 11.
Copy path or Copy as path will copy the full path of selected items (files and folders) wrapped in quotes to the Clipboard so you can paste (Ctrl+V) the full path(s) of the item(s) where you like.
The Copy as path context menu and Copy path from the File Explorer command bar menu is not available for drives by default, but can be added to be able to copy the full path of a selected drive (ex: “C:\”) wrapped in quotes. This will also include mapped network drives.
This tutorial will show how to add or remove the Copy as path context menu and Copy path from the File Explorer command bar menu for drives for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Windows Portable Devices (WPD)Â enables computers to communicate with attached media and storage devices. WPD provides a flexible, robust way for computers to communicate with music players, storage devices, mobile phones, cameras, and many other types of connected devices.
When you open removable media or devices (ex: USB) as a portable device, programs or software run from that device will store their data on the portable device itself and should not require storage or registry changes on the computer which they are running on.
To open removable media or device as a portable device in Windows, you would right click on the connected removable media or device in File Explorer > This PC, click/tap on Show more options (W11 only), and click/tap on Open as Portable Device.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the Open as Portable Device context menu for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
You can use Advanced Security Settings to manually change the owner, change permissions, and set up advanced sharing settings for a selected item.
Normally to open Advanced Security Settings for an item (ex: file, folder, or drive), you would need to right click on an item, click/tap on “Properties”, click/tap on the “Security” tab, and click/tap on the “Advanced” button.
If you like, you can add Advanced security to the context menu to make it easier to directly open Advanced Security Settings for an item as needed.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Advanced security to the context menu for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Copy path or Copy as path will copy the full path of selected items (files and folders) wrapped in quotes to the Clipboard so you can paste (Ctrl+V) the full path(s) of the item(s) where you like.
This tutorial will show how to add or remove the Copy as path context menu and Copy path from the File Explorer command bar menu for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
A font is a graphical representation of text that may include a different typeface, point size, weight, color, or design.
To help protect from attacks that may originate from untrusted or attacker-controlled font files, Microsoft created the Blocking Untrusted Fonts feature. Using this feature, you can turn on a global setting that stops users from loading untrusted fonts processed using the Graphics Device Interface (GDI). Untrusted fonts are any font installed outside of the %windir%/Fonts directory. Blocking untrusted fonts helps prevent both remote (web-based or email-based) and local EOP attacks that can happen during the font file-parsing process.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Untrusted Font Blocking for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
PowerShell’s execution policy is a safety feature that controls the conditions under which PowerShell loads configuration files and runs scripts. This feature helps prevent the execution of malicious scripts.
On a Windows computer you can set an execution policy for the local computer, for the current user, or for a particular session. You can also use a Group Policy setting to set execution policies for computers and users.
Execution policies for the local computer and current user are stored in the registry. You don’t need to set execution policies in your PowerShell profile. The execution policy for a particular session is stored only in memory and is lost when the session is closed.
The execution policy isn’t a security system that restricts user actions. For example, users can easily bypass a policy by typing the script contents at the command line when they cannot run a script. Instead, the execution policy helps users to set basic rules and prevents them from violating them unintentionally.
You can set an execution policy that is effective only in a particular scope.
The valid values for Scope are MachinePolicy, UserPolicy, Process, CurrentUser, and LocalMachine. LocalMachine is the default when setting an execution policy.
The Scope values are listed in precedence order. The policy that takes precedence is effective in the current session, even if a more restrictive policy was set at a lower level of precedence.
If you set the execution policy for the scopes LocalMachine or the CurrentUser, the change is saved in the registry and remains effective until you change it again.
If you set the execution policy for the Process scope, it’s not saved in the registry. The execution policy is retained until the current process and any child processes are closed.
This tutorial will show you different ways on how to set the PowerShell script execution policy for the current user, local machine, or current process in Windows 11.
Turning on system protection for a drive allows System Restore to include the drive when restore points are created so you can undo undesired system changes by reverting to a previous point in time.
System Restore monitors system changes and saves the system state as a restore point. If a system problem develops as a result of a system change, the user can return the system to a previous state using the data from a restore point.
Restore points are created to let users select a previous system state. Each restore point contains the required information to restore the system to the selected state. Restore points are created before key changes are made to the system.
This tutorial will show you how to see a list of all available restore points in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The lower right corner of Taskbar in Windows 11 has a button for the Notification Center (Win+N) and Quick Settings (Win+A).
Quick Settings is the place for you to quickly manage and access settings like Volume, Brightness, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, Battery saver, Night light, Mobile hotspot, Accessibility, Nearby sharing, and Project.
After you edit quick settings to add and remove quick settings you want, you can back up your changes to be able to restore later.
This tutorial will show you how to backup and restore Quick Settings for your account in Windows 11.
Widgets are small cards that display dynamic content from your favorite apps and services on your Windows desktop. They appear on the widgets board, where you can discover, pin, unpin, arrange, resize, and customize widgets to reflect your interests. Your widgets board is optimized to show relevant widgets and personalized content based on your usage.
If Widgets will not open, frozen, or acting buggy, then you could see if restarting the Widgets process may help.
This tutorial will show you how to restart the Widgets process for your account in Windows 11.
If you don’t like the new Photos app in Windows 11, you can download and install the Microsoft Photos Legacy app from the Microsoft Store.
Photos Legacy is the app for Microsoft’s Legacy Collections, Albums, and Video Editor. Be empowered to do more with your photos and videos. Easily view, edit, compare, create albums, and make movies of your special memories.
The filmstrip shows all the items from that location and allows you to jump to other photos while staying immersed in the experience. You can also compare photos and videos in the same app window using the multi-view mode. This is activated by selecting multiple items from the filmstrip interface.
In the toolbar, you’ll get to work with edit, mark-up, favoriting, metadata, and have quick access to third-party photo editors. Enjoy your photos edge to edge and distraction-free by easily hiding the toolbars. Whether you are viewing or editing your photos, the Photos Legacy experience is intuitive, elegant, and seamlessly woven into the fabric of Windows 11.
This tutorial will show you how to install the Photos Legacy app for your account in Windows 11.
When you have more than one language and/or keyboard layout installed, you will see the language bar (input indicator) on the taskbar system tray area and sign-in screen by default.
The language bar allows you to switch between your added languages and keyboard layouts as needed.
You can change the order languages appear in on the language bar to the order you want.
Added keyboard layouts are grouped with their language for the order on the language bar. If you change the order of a language, all of its keyboard layouts get moved along with it as a group.
This tutorial will show you how to change the order added languages appear in on the language bar for your account in Windows 11.
The Microsoft Edge web browser is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. With speed, performance, best in class compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in privacy and security features.
Microsoft Edge offers Enhance your security on the web, an optional browsing mode that provides an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and unfamiliar sites.
Enhanced security in Microsoft Edge helps safeguard against memory-related vulnerabilities by disabling just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation and enabling additional operating system protections for the browser. These protections include Hardware-enforced Stack Protection and Arbitrary Code Guard (ACG). With these protections in place, Microsoft Edge helps reduce the risk of an attack by automatically applying stricter security settings on unfamiliar sites while adapting to your browsing habits over time.
When enhanced security is turned on, you can select from three levels of browsing security: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. You can manually add site exceptions. Sites added to the exception list will have the feature turned off by default.
In Basic, Balanced, and Strict mode, you can also create exceptions for certain familiar websites that you trust or wish to enforce this mode on. You can add or remove sites from a Never use enhanced security for these sites and Always use enhanced security for these sites exceptions list.
You can turn on or off to always use “Strict” level of enhanced security when browsing InPrivate.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove site exceptions for enhanced security in Microsoft Edge for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The Microsoft Edge web browser is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. With speed, performance, best in class compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in privacy and security features.
Microsoft Edge offers Enhance your security on the web, an optional browsing mode that provides an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and unfamiliar sites.
Enhanced security in Microsoft Edge helps safeguard against memory-related vulnerabilities by disabling just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation and enabling additional operating system protections for the browser. These protections include Hardware-enforced Stack Protection and Arbitrary Code Guard (ACG). With these protections in place, Microsoft Edge helps reduce the risk of an attack by automatically applying stricter security settings on unfamiliar sites while adapting to your browsing habits over time.
When enhanced security is turned on, you can select from three levels of browsing security: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. You can manually add site exceptions. Sites added to the exception list will have the feature turned off by default.
You can turn on or off to always use Strict level of enhanced security when browsing InPrivate.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable always use “Strict” enhanced security mode when browsing InPrivate in Microsoft Edge for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.