Control Panel Utilities
This is a guide on control panel utilities in Windows.
Internet Options
In this demonstration we want to take a look at the Internet options associated with Internet Explorer. Now, there are a couple of things to say about this. This lesson is called Control Panel Applets. [Video description begins] A Windows 10 desktop displays. [Video description ends] And so clearly if I go in to the Control Panel, and I can do that just by typing "control panel" at the Start menu. There's Internet Options, I see it displayed in the list. [Video description begins] The presenter clicks the Start button and begins to enter the search term in the search field. He selects Control Panel from the list of results and the All Control Panel Items window opens. He points to Internet Options. Other options include Programs and Features, and Security and Maintenance. [Video description ends]
Now, if your Control Panel does not look like mine, you may be in the default view. [Video description begins] He points to the View by drop-down list, which is set to Large icons. [Video description ends] If I look in the upper right-hand corner, there's a choice here for Category, and that changes the look of this dramatically. [Video description begins] He selects Category from the View by drop-down list. A series of categories now display, including System and Security, and Network and Internet. Each category includes a series of sub-options. For instance, System and Security includes links to review the computer's status, as well as backup and restore Windows. [Video description ends]
I'm going to keep it in Small icons, so I can see where I'm going, and there's Internet Options. [Video description begins] He selects Small icons from the View by drop-down list. The view updates and the list of all Control Panel items displays with small icons and text. He points to Internet Options. [Video description ends] Now, if I go to the Start menu again, and if I type "internet options", I see it listed there and I hit it, and it opens right up for me. [Video description begins] He minimizes the window and clicks the Start button. He types "internet" in the search field and selects Internet Options from the list of results. The Internet Properties dialog box opens with the General tab selected. [Video description ends] Beautiful, that's what I want.
The caution that I have for you, folks, is that it used to be we could easily access this. If I look down here on my taskbar there's an icon for Internet Explorer. [Video description begins] He points to the Internet Explorer option on the taskbar. [Video description ends] If I right-click it there's no Internet Options anymore. [Video description begins] He right-clicks Internet Explorer on the taskbar. A shortcut menu opens. Options include Start InPrivate Browsing and Open new tab. [Video description ends] And that's because Microsoft is increasingly pushing its Edge browser solution and it wants Internet Explorer to fade into the background, right?
So not our browser of choice today. However, it's on the test, and all these tabs up here are on the test. You have to know them. So we're going to take a look at these here. [Video description begins] The tabs in the Internet Properties dialog box are as follows: General, Security, Privacy, Content, Connections, Programs, and Advanced. [Video description ends]
The first thing is if you wanted to have that Internet Options as a right-click choice, it is available in Group Policy settings for Internet Explorer, which today have all been moved into Policy Preferences. And so you will find them there, again, an indication that that application is in decline, I think. Home page, I set it there. [Video description begins] He points to the Home page section on the General tabbed page. This section includes the URL that has been set as the browser home page, as well as buttons such as Use default and Use new tab. [Video description ends] I can add multiple tabs here.
When it starts up, do I start with the tabs from the last session, as the Edge browser does? A lot of people find that to be a great choice. I prefer to always go to the home page. [Video description begins] He points to the Startup section, which has two radio buttons: Start with tabs from the last session and Start with home page, which is selected. [Video description ends]
Change how webpages are displayed in tabs. If I look up here, there's a bunch of tabbed browsing choices that I can tweak out, should I need to. [Video description begins] He clicks Tabs in the Tabs section. The Tabbed Browsing Settings dialog box opens. He points to the various settings, then clicks Cancel to return to the Internet Properties dialog box. [Video description ends] Again, if you're not having a problem, right? If it's not broke, don't fix it, as they used to say.
I can delete all my browsing history here, right, should I ever need to do that. [Video description begins] He points to the Delete browsing history checkbox in the Browsing history section. Other options include Delete and Settings. The final section on the General tabbed page is Appearance. [Video description ends]
Now, on the Security tab, this is a tricky business. Because we're always balancing usability with security. [Video description begins] He clicks the Security tab. [Video description ends] Depending on the version of your operating system and depending on the version of your browser, the default setting here might be medium or medium to high. [Video description begins] He points to the Security settings, which include a series of zones for which security can be configured, including Internet, Local intranet, and Trusted sites. Internet is selected and the security level is currently Medium-high. [Video description ends] It changes depending on the version of the browser and the operating system that you are on.
And so, if I say Reset all zones to the default level, I see here in Internet Explorer 11, is the version that we're using here on Windows 10, it's Medium-high. [Video description begins] He clicks Reset all zones to default level. Then he points to the Security level for the selected zone, which is still Medium-high. [Video description ends] But if I go back a couple of generations of the browser in the OS, it's a Medium, so they've refined this a bit. And this is the most safe while being most usable that I can be on the Internet.
If I have a need, if there are security concerns, I can raise this level, but that is going to impact the user's ability to browse the Internet. They will have to approve sites, add them to the Trusted sites list. And of course, I can always add Restricted sites. [Video description begins] He clicks Restricted sites in the list of zones. The security level for that zone is High. [Video description ends] And those are websites that are known to potentially be malware, malicious sites, et cetera. The best way to manage this is with a subscription to a block-services provider. And so you buy a subscription and as the dark net and those websites that we don't want users at, move around and change their IP addresses, your block list gets updated automatically. Because no human being could keep up with that change, right?
On the Privacy choice here, we can turn on Pop-up Blocker and Disable toolbars and extensions when InPrivate Browsing starts. [Video description begins] He clicks the Privacy tab. There are four sections: Settings, Location, Pop-up Blocker, and InPrivate. He points to the Pop-up Blocker and InPrivate sections, along with their corresponding options. [Video description ends] InPrivate Browsing is a way that users can browse the Internet without feeling like they're being watched.
Now, of course, they are, and the easiest thing to do if you want to know where users have been is just do an ipconfig/displaydns and that'll give you all the DNS lookups. So you know where that person was. InPrivate Browsing is not a foolproof kind of thing by any stretch of the imagination. [Video description begins] He points to the Disable toolbars and extensions when InPrivate Browsing starts checkbox, which is selected. [Video description ends]
If you're using certificates you can specify certificates in here. [Video description begins] He clicks the Content tab and points to the Certificates section. The other sections are: AutoComplete and Feeds and Web Slices. [Video description ends]
On the Connections, if I were setting up dial-up and virtual private network connections, I could add the files for that. [Video description begins] He clicks the Connections tab. The page includes options to set up an Internet connection and configure dial-up and virtual private network settings, as well as local area network settings. [Video description ends] The package files, or the Connection Manager profiles, depending on what third-party app you're using. I could add them in here.
Over here, how does Internet Explorer open links? [Video description begins] He clicks the Programs tab and points to the Opening Internet Explorer section. [Video description ends] Always in Internet Explorer, and this setting is grayed out because it's managed by my administrator. [Video description begins] He points to the default selection: Always in Internet Explorer on the desktop. [Video description ends] And that's the setting that's going to make me most secure, while being most usable.
Manage add-ons, I can remove and add add-ons, should I need to. [Video description begins] He clicks Manage add-ons in the Manage add-ons section. The Manage Add-ons window opens with options to view and manage Internet Explorer add-ons. He clicks Close and returns to the Programs tab. [Video description ends]
HTML editing, if I'm using a particular HTML editor. [Video description begins] He points to the HTML editing section. The remaining sections are: Internet programs and File associations. [Video description ends]
And finally, over here on the Advanced tab, are settings that I would not tend to edit from the defaults unless I had a good reason. [Video description begins] He clicks the Advanced tab and points to the list of settings that display. Each setting has an associated checkbox. Categories of settings include Accessibility and Browsing. [Video description ends]
If the documentation, the website documentation, the hardware manufacturer, the application provider says, I need you or for security purposes to display a notification about every script error, particularly valuable for developers who are testing their applications, then I would turn that on. Other than that I'd leave it alone.
This is a look at Internet options, for Internet Explorer with the caution to everybody that the Edge browser is increasingly in use out there today.
Display/Display Settings
In this demonstration, I'd like to take look at the display properties. Now it's important to note, if your experience with Windows is prior to Vista, up to XP, and not so much after, you may be expecting lots of settings to be in one place when, in fact, they have been split now since Windows Vista, into two separate applets. And I can show that most clearly if I right-click the desktop. [Video description begins] A Windows 10 desktop displays. [Video description ends] It's these two choices here, Display settings and Personalize. [Video description begins] The presenter points to the options in the desktop shortcut menu that displays. [Video description ends]
And Personalize is what most of your users are going to be looking for most of the time. [Video description begins] He clicks Personalize and the Settings window opens. Personalization settings display. The navigation pane includes options such as Background, Colors, and Themes. Background is selected and the associated options display in the content area. For instance, there are options to select a background color. [Video description ends]
And so when I open that, what I see is the Background settings. [Video description begins] The Background page includes a Background drop-down list, set to Solid color, and an associated color palette. [Video description ends] I'm a father, I love my son. I want to post a picture of my child to my desktop, right? And so here I can choose Picture. [Video description begins] He expands the Background drop-down list. The options are: Solid color, Picture, and Slideshow. He selects Picture. Additional options display, including settings to choose a picture and specify the fit. [Video description ends]
And this is one of my favorite pictures. And so I'll go ahead and I'll put that as the picture on the desktop. [Video description begins] He points to the Choose your picture section, which includes a series of image thumbnails. A Browser button is also available. He selects an image, then clicks Minimize. The desktop displays the updated background image. [Video description ends] And whoa, it's way too big. What am I going to do?
So if I come back into the applet, there's a choice down here, Choose a fit. [Video description begins] He maximizes the Settings window from the taskbar and points to the Choose a fit drop-down list, which is set to Center. [Video description ends] And so I can say, Center is what I would normally do. But if the picture is large like that, then I'll tell it to Fit to the screen. [Video description begins] He selects Fit from the Choose a fit drop-down list. Other options include: Fill, Stretch, and Span. [Video description ends] And if I minimize this window from the upper right-hand corner minimize button, I see that it now fits the screen. [Video description begins] He clicks Minimize and returns to the desktop, where the background image size has been updated. [Video description ends]
And there are other options in there. If this were a small picture and I wanted to repeat it many times, I could say Tile, and it would cover the screen with that same image over and over and over again. If the picture were too small, I could maybe stretch it out. Or, and this is one that people really like, there's the Slideshow choice. [Video description begins] He selects Slideshow from the Background drop-down list. Options to select albums for the slideshow, as well as specify the length of time between each image change, display. [Video description ends] And I could choose a slideshow. And then every minute the picture will change. [Video description begins] He points to the Change picture every drop-down list, which is set to 1 minute. He clicks Minimize and returns to the desktop. [Video description ends]
And so this is from that album. And this will change up as we work through this demonstration. [Video description begins] He points to the current background image that displays. [Video description ends]
Do I want the pictures to display in order or should I shuffle them? [Video description begins] He points to the Shuffle switch, which is toggled Off. [Video description ends] And then you'll note here, right, my background is black. [Video description begins] He clicks Minimize and returns to the desktop. He points to the desktop area that is visible behind the background image. [Video description ends] I can see that clearly.
But if I wanted something different, maybe green, for example. I can change, select green, minimize the window, I can see the change happen. [Video description begins] He maximizes the Settings window and points to the Choose your background color section, which consists of a color palette. He selects a shade of green and certain elements on the page update. For instance, the navigation pane is now the specified shade of green. He clicks Minimize and returns to the desktop, where the background color has also been updated. [Video description ends] And look, there's old Buddy. [Video description begins] He points to the desktop. The background image has changed to display a picture of a dog. He maximizes the Settings window. [Video description ends]
And for our purposes, I'm going to go back to black. And I'll leave the slideshow on for the purposes of this demonstration. [Video description begins] He selects Black from the Choose your background color section. [Video description ends]
And then I want to take a look at the Display settings. [Video description begins] He clicks Minimize and returns to the desktop. He right-clicks and the shortcut menu opens. [Video description ends] Because as an administrator, you are far more likely, I would think, to be looking at these settings and tweaking these settings out on behalf of your users, so that their screens just work for them. [Video description begins] He points to the Display settings option in the shortcut menu. [Video description ends]
And so if we choose Display settings, [Video description begins] The Settings window opens. A number of Display options are available. [Video description ends] under Display there's a choice of Color and Night light. [Video description begins] He points to the Night light switch, which is toggled to Off. [Video description ends] And I do rather like the Night light, or rather I did when my son was young and we would travel. Often in the hotel your only choice would be to switch on the hall light, so you had some light. And that could be harsh or not enough, right? And so I found my laptop worked brilliantly as a night light for my son. [Video description begins] He toggles the Night light switch to On. A note states that the light will be off until 4:35 PM. A Night light settings link is also available, which he clicks. The Night light settings page opens. [Video description ends]
And so I could turn it on and then set a color temperature. [Video description begins] He clicks Turn on now and the switch options update. A note states that the light will be on until sunrise at 7:07 AM. Then he points to the Color temperature at night slider. [Video description ends] And then schedule it for when it would be on. [Video description begins] He points to the Schedule section, which contains a Schedule night light switch that is toggled to On. There are two radio buttons: Sunset to sunrise and Set hours. He clicks Back to return to the Display settings. [Video description ends] And this made my son's travel experience much better, much, much better. No, we don't want that on now, though. [Video description begins] He toggles the Night light switch to Off. [Video description ends]
Scale and layout. [Video description begins] He points to the Scale and layout section, which contains a drop-down list of options to change the size of text, apps, and other items. An Advanced scaling settings link is also available. [Video description ends] Now today, monitors do a pretty good job. But if you're having trouble and apps are blurry, you can set scaling options in here. [Video description begins] He clicks Advanced scaling settings and the associated page opens. It includes options to fix scaling for apps and specify custom scaling. He clicks Back and returns to the Display settings. [Video description ends] And commonly, the software manufacturer will be aware of these problems, and can give you recommendations for what the size scaling should be.
Resolution, if we take a look, here's all the standard resolutions. Because we're producing this in video format, we choose the 1280x720. [Video description begins] He expands the Resolution drop-down list and points to the options, which include 1280 x 1024 and 800 x 600. He closes the list without making changes. [Video description ends]
And then is the orientation landscape or portrait? [Video description begins] He points to the Orientation drop-down list, which is set to Landscape. [Video description ends] Which is very valuable for these tablet devices where I can switch, right, I'm holding it landscape then I want to switch to portrait. Most of those devices will do it automatically. But if you have a monitor that switches and doesn't do it automatically, you can reset whether it's landscape or portrait in here.
And if I had additional displays or multiple displays, I could detect them in here. [Video description begins] He points to the Multiple displays section, which includes a Detect button and links such as Advanced display settings and Graphic settings. [Video description ends] And then specify which one was number one, which was number two. And how the settings for each of them played, so that they worked well together.
This is a look at display settings and personalized options. Which again, prior to Windows Vista, were in one place together, are now separate as the Display and Personalize options.
Folder Options
In this demonstration, I'd like to look at the options in the Windows Explorer.
Now, the Windows Explorer is when I'm browsing the directory tree on the local hard drive, right? And there's a couple ways that that can be accessed. [Video description begins] A Windows 10 desktop displays. The taskbar displays and includes a series of icons, including an option for File Explorer. [Video description ends] I could type "Windows Explorer" into the search bar. If I had the Cortana enabled here, I could speak Windows Explorer and find it right in there.
Or commonly, there is pinned to the Start menu a folder icon, and that's Windows Explorer. And so if I click on that folder icon on the task bar, it opens. [Video description begins] The File Explorer interface includes a Quick access toolbar, ribbon, address bar, navigation pane, and content pane. [Video description ends] And today, we have this Quick access choice. [Video description begins] The presenter points to the navigation pane, which includes a list of locations on the computer. Quick access is selected and the associated files and folders display in the content pane. [Video description ends]
And so I can see the list of frequently accessed folders and I can see the recent files up at the top of this screen, right. [Video description begins] He points to the content pane, which is divided into sections for Frequent folders and Recent files. He collapses each section in turn. [Video description ends] And what these are, of course, is easy reference for users. This is what you've been working in, the assumption is you're going to want to get back there again. So here's a list of what you've recently been working on. [Video description begins] He points to the collapsed Frequent folders and Recent files options available from the Quick access shortcut. [Video description ends]
Up at the top here, there are a couple of tabs and I want to go to the View tab. [Video description begins] He points to the ribbon, which has tabs for File, Home, Share, and View. He clicks the View tab. View options are listed in groups such as Panes, Layout, and Current view. [Video description ends] And then I'll navigate all the way to the right, to the last option on this menu, which is Options. And there's the Change folder and search options. And this is what we're looking for in here. [Video description begins] He selects Change folder and search options from the Options drop-down menu. The Folder Options dialog box opens on the General tab. [Video description ends]
And if I take a look, well, the first thing that I'm going to start with on the General page is the last item in the list, so the last one down: Privacy. [Video description begins] The General tab contains three sections: Browse folders, Click items as follows, and Privacy. [Video description ends] Show recently used files in Quick access. Show frequently used folders in Quick access. [Video description begins] He points to the two checkboxes which are selected in the Privacy section. [Video description ends]
If I don't want those things there, I can remove them by unchecking these boxes. Or if I'm getting ready to do a demonstration and I'm embarrassed by the files that would appear there, I could hit Clear. And that would clear the list. [Video description begins] He clicks Clear. [Video description ends] And I can see actually that some of that has updated so that recent files is 0, I'm currently in an open folder, and so frequent folders is not quite to 0. But that gives you the idea, right? [Video description begins] He points to the Quick access section, where the Recent files are now zero and Frequent folders are four. [Video description ends]
Now, moving up the list then, the middle item. [Video description begins] He points to the options in the Click items as follows section. [Video description ends] How do folders open? With a single click? Which can be great for some users, and I find younger users are very adaptive with that. They're accustomed to a single-click interface. [Video description begins] He points to the first radio button: Single-click to open an item (point to select). It is not selected. [Video description ends] Older folks like me, we've been double-clicking our whole lives. I choose double-click to open a folder. [Video description begins] He points to the Double-click to open an item (single-click to select) radio button, which is selected. [Video description ends]
The first choice up here, Browse folders. [Video description begins] He points to the Browser folders section, which has two options: Open each folder in the same window, which is selected, and Open each folder in its own window. [Video description ends] Open each folder in the same window, so we're just browsing the tree, or Open each folder in its own window. You navigate down a few folders, you got six folders open. There are times you might want such a thing, but for most of us, no.
And I apologize. Browse folders is not in fact the first choice. It's the first of these three sections, but there is a choice at the very top, open File Explorer where? [Video description begins] He points to the Open File Explorer to drop-down list. It has two options: Quick access and This PC. [Video description ends] In Quick access or in This PC. [Video description begins] He selects This PC from the Open File Explorer to drop-down list. [Video description ends]
And if I reset the option to This PC and I'll close this window and launch the Windows Explorer from the task bar again. [Video description begins] He clicks Apply and then clicks OK. Then he clicks Close on the File Explorer and returns to the desktop. [Video description ends] you can see how very different it looks. [Video description begins] File Explorer reopens. This PC is selected in the navigation pane. [Video description ends]
I see the connected devices. I see the local disc drives and the attached USB peripherals, any shares, and then the library folders, right? [Video description begins] He points to the content pane, which includes the options for This PC. There are sections for Folders, Devices and drives, and Network locations. [Video description ends] This Folders (7) choice here are all of my libraries, which are actually concatenations or collections of files from all over the place. [Video description begins] He points to the seven folders in the Folders section, which are as follows: 3D Objects, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos. [Video description ends]
The Quick access is really very useful, I think, for the average user. And you'll note too, that changing that display changes the available tabs up here at the top. [Video description begins] He points to the ribbon, which now has tabs for File, Computer, and View. Computer is selected. [Video description ends]
So again, let's go back to View. [Video description begins] He clicks the View tab. [Video description ends] Let's go back to Options and change folders and file settings. [Video description begins] He selects Change folder and search options from the Options drop-down menu. The Folder Options dialog box opens on the General tab. [Video description ends] The second tab in this menu is the View tab. [Video description begins] He clicks the View tab. It has two sections: Folder views and Advanced settings. [Video description ends] And there are a number of things that I do as an administrator that you may well not want your users doing, but that you yourself would want to do.
And so for example, I want to display the full path in the title bar. I want to see it. [Video description begins] He points to the Advanced settings list and selects the relevant checkbox. [Video description ends] I want to show hidden files, folders, and drives. I want to see them. [Video description begins] He points to the Hidden files and folders option, which has two radio buttons. The Don't show hidden files, folders, or drives radio button is selected. He selects the Show hidden files, folders, or drives radio button. [Video description ends]
I want to not hide an empty drive. I want to see it. [Video description begins] He clears the Hide empty drives checkbox. [Video description ends] I want to see the file extensions for every known file type, so that when I look at that file, I can see that it's really a JPEG. I can see it's a PNG, I know it's not a CMD or .bat or a .exe, right, all the usual suspects for malware and that kind of thing. [Video description begins] He clears the Hide extensions for known file types checkbox. [Video description ends] And those are really the only settings that I personally change when I'm in here. You can see there's quite a few others. I don't have a use for these, you may well. [Video description begins] Other options include Show drive letters, Show status bar, and Use check boxes to select items. [Video description ends]
Search, the final tab in here, how to search? [Video description begins] He clicks the Search tab. There are two sections: How to search and When searching non-indexed locations. [Video description ends] Don't use the index. [Video description begins] He points to the How to search section. The only option, a Don't use the index when searching in file folders for system files checkbox, is not selected. [Video description ends] Well, why wouldn't you want to use the index? I mean, the index makes things go faster, I always want to use that index. I have never encountered a situation where I want to turn this on. There undoubtedly is one or the option would not exist. I personally have never encountered a situation where that would be of value to me.
When searching non-index locations, do I include system directories, right. [Video description begins] He points to the When searching non-indexed locations section. The Include system directories checkbox is selected. [Video description ends] And these are the defaults, folks, everything we're looking at in here are the defaults. Include system directories.
Do I include compressed files? Maybe I want to in search those compressed files. [Video description begins] He selects the Include compressed files checkbox. [Video description ends] Always search file names and contents. If I want to be able to search not on the file name, but on the contents of the file, then I've got to check that box right there. [Video description begins] He selects the checkbox. The Search tab also includes a Restore Defaults button. [Video description ends]
This is a look at folder options and search options in Windows 10.
System Settings
In this video, I'd like to take a look at what Microsoft has traditionally referred to as the system properties. So if you've been using Windows software for a long time, you've undoubtedly seen this app. However, in Windows 10, there is a change. [Video description begins] A Windows 10 desktop displays. [Video description ends]
If I open the Start menu, right, either with the key on my keyboard or from the lower left-hand corner of the screen. And I type "system properties," I don't get what I'm looking for. [Video description begins] The presenter types "system" in the search field and points to the list of search results. [Video description ends] It's none of these, I assure you. [Video description begins] Options in the search results include System Information and System Configuration. [Video description ends] I have to type "advanced system settings" to get in there. And that's a change from the way that things have traditionally been. [Video description begins] He types "A-D" in the search field and the search results update. There is an option for View advanced system settings. [Video description ends]
So I'm going to go ahead and open up that advanced system settings. [Video description begins] He clicks View advanced system settings. The System Properties dialog box opens on the Advanced tab. [Video description ends] And I see here Performance, User Profiles, Startup and Recovery to begin with, right? That's the first tab that opens, the Advanced tab. [Video description begins] He points to the three sections on the Advanced tabbed page. [Video description ends]
Now, let's start here then, and we'll take a look at Performance. [Video description begins] He clicks the Settings button in the Performance section. A Performance Options dialog box opens. The Visual Effects tab is selected. It includes a list of settings to configure the appearance and performance of Windows on the computer. [Video description ends] And here I can tweak some of the Windows effects, right? The graphics, animations, the things that use processor cycles and memory. And you'll note that the default is Let Windows choose what's best for my computer. And I tend to agree with that. Let this be managed by Windows. [Video description begins] Other options include Adjust for best appearance, Adjust for best performance, and Custom. There is also a list of checkbox options, such as Enable Peek and Show shadows under windows. [Video description ends]
If I look on the Advanced page of the Performance Options, there's a choice for Virtual memory. [Video description begins] He clicks the Advanced tab and points to the Virtual memory section, which contains a Change button. [Video description ends] And there was a time where we spent a lot of time talking about how big should the page file be. [Video description begins] He clicks Change. The Virtual Memory dialog box opens. It includes options to specify the paging file size for drives. [Video description ends] And there were different recommendations. It should be 1.5 times RAM. It should be equal to RAM, right? Over the years, there have been a lot of recommendations about that.
Today, the only recommendation from Microsoft is to let Windows manage it. If Windows is functioning properly, it will optimize the performance of virtual memory. Now this is a technology that's been around for 20 years. I agree, I don't want to edit this unless I have good reason to. [Video description begins] He points to the default settings. For instance, Windows will automatically manage paging file size for all drives. [Video description ends] And in point of fact, much of what's in here I'm going to leave to the machine. I don't want to fool around with this. You mess up virtual memory, right, that's the page file where data and memory is written to the disk when you run out of memory address spaces. You change that page file, you mess that up, it's unbelievable what will go wrong for you. So I'm going to leave that alone. [Video description begins] He clicks Close and returns to the Performance Options dialog box. [Video description ends]
For almost all machines where it says Processor scheduling here under the Advanced tab, you'll note Adjust for best performance of programs, of the applications, right? [Video description begins] He points to the Processor scheduling section. The Programs radio button is selected. [Video description ends] That's what I'm using this machine for.
Unless I'm taking this Windows 10 machine and now I'm going to put it on the network as a print server because I just need a print server right now. Or some other, it'll act as some other gateway maybe for remote connections because we have an office of fewer than ten people. Whatever it might be, if you're changing the fundamental function of the machine to act as a server and users will not be logged into it, then yes, I would change this optimize for Background services. Otherwise, it's always going to be Programs. [Video description begins] He points to the Background services radio button. He clicks the Data Execution Prevention tab. [Video description ends]
And then finally here is Data Execution Prevention. And Data Execution Prevention marks areas of system memory as read-only, preventing malware and viri and all the emergent threats of the 21st century Internet from leveraging those memory address spaces against me. [Video description begins] The purpose of Data Execution Prevention, or DEP, is to protect against damage from viruses and other security threats. [Video description ends] And so wherever my computer processor supports hardware-based DEP, I do tend to want to enable that. [Video description begins] He points to the Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only radio button, which is selected. [Video description ends]
In high security environments, you may choose to Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select and then specify a list of applications that are exempted from this rule. Otherwise, we choose the default. [Video description begins] He points to the Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select radio button. There is an associated list box. Next he clicks Cancel and returns to the System Properties dialog box, where the Advanced tab is selected. [Video description ends]
Coming down the list here, there's User Profiles and this is the profile of every user that's logged into this machine previously. [Video description begins] He points to the User Profiles section, which enables you to configure desktop settings related to sign-in. It contains a Settings button. [Video description ends] And if I look next to Startup and Recovery. [Video description begins] The Startup and Recovery section enables you to configure system startup, system failure, and debugging information. He clicks Settings and the Startup and Recovery dialog box opens. [Video description ends]
And so there's a kind of vestigial setting here, Default operating system, right? You know what vestigial means? Vestigial means something that used to mean something, but really doesn't anymore. And that's because nobody does dual boot anymore. In the age of virtualization, I can virtualize a second operating system if I need it, right? Why would I do a boot today when I can run both operating systems simultaneously? But if you are living in a world where you did have a dual boot machine and you wanted to specify a default operating system, right? Windows 10 or Windows 8. Maybe you're doing testing on hardware in the lab. You could specify which was the default to start. [Video description begins] He points to the System startup section. Windows 10 is selected in the Default operating system drop-down list. [Video description ends]
And then down here you could specify just below the Default operating system choice, Time to display list of operating systems and the default's 30 seconds. [Video description begins] The checkbox is selected. 30 seconds is the specified time, in this case. [Video description ends] For most users, that's plenty of time to say they want eight or ten when the machine is starting up. Time to display recovery options when needed, right? [Video description begins] He points to the Time to display recovery options when needed checkbox. [Video description ends] So if I go into those advanced startup options, how long do the recovery options display for me? Now of course, that depends on me having built out the infrastructure to support those recovery options. And this is just where I enable the menu to see them.
If the system blue screens, what do I do? [Video description begins] He points to the System failure section. There are two checkboxes: Write an event to the system log and Automatically restart. Both are selected. [Video description ends] I write an event to the system log, I automatically restart, and I create a dump file. That is to say, I'm going to take all that's in Active Memory and dump that data to a file on the hard disk that I can then send to Microsoft for debugging information. [Video description begins] He points to the Write debugging information section, which contains a Dump file field. [Video description ends]
Or I might have debugging tools myself that I can use to take a look at that file. And I'll tend to agree here. Overwrite any existing file. Because these things take up a lot of space, right? [Video description begins] He points to the checkbox, which is selected. [Video description ends] If I got 16 gigs of RAM in this machine as I do, that's almost certainly going to mean that the memory dump file is approximately 16 gigs, almost always.
Disable automatic deletion of memory dumps when disk space is low. [Video description begins] This checkbox is clear by default. [Video description ends] Now, in the normal course of events, as the disk runs out of space, it'll look for files to delete to free up space. And the biggest files there are are memory dumps. If I want to shut that off because I need to preserve those, because we're in an ongoing case situation, then I would check that box. Otherwise, I want them deleted, right? I want them gone, they're worthless to me in 99% of cases. [Video description begins] He clicks Cancel and returns to the System Properties dialog box, where the Advanced tab is selected. [Video description ends]
Over here on System Protection, here's a great choice, Protection Settings, right? [Video description begins] He clicks the System Protection tab and points to the Protection Settings section. [Video description ends] So on this page, there are two choices, System Restore if I wanted to fail back to an earlier restore point or Protection Settings. And what's critical to know about this is that these are enabled on a per disk basis. So for every physical disk that you have, and for every logical partition, there will be a choice. [Video description begins] The Protection Settings section includes a list box that contains the available drives as well as the protection associated with each drive. [Video description ends]
Now here I have this Seagate Expansion Drive, and it's not on for that drive, right? [Video description begins] He points to the list box, where the Seagate Expansion Drive is selected. Its protection status is Off. [Video description ends] And when we say Protection Settings, what this is is where I get those wonderful previous versions, right? Where the users can right-click the file and go to previous versions and restore it for themselves right there, saving you the help desk call. How great is that, right? To get those, I have to turn this on for every drive. [Video description begins] The Protection Settings section includes options to configure restore settings, manage disk space, and delete restore points. There is an associated Configure button, which he clicks. The System Protection for Seagate Expansion Drive dialog box opens. He selects the Turn on system protection radio button in the Restore Settings section. [Video description ends]
I specify down here, Current Usage. I can specify a Max Usage. [Video description begins] He points to the Data Space Usage section, which contains options to adjust the disk space used for system protection. It lists the current usage and a slider to set Max Usage. He moves the slider to 5%. [Video description ends] Generally, I want to leave the Max Usage less than 5% for restore points and then the old restore points will get deleted over time. You can see with this particular drive, just 5% is 200 gigs, which is huge, so maybe I'll actually cut it down a little bit, cut it down to 3%.[Video description begins] He points to the slider, where 5% is specified as 186.30 GB. He moves the slider to 3%. The size is now 111.78 GB. [Video description ends]
So we turn that on. Now, this is the first time it's been turned on for this big drive. [Video description begins] He clicks OK and returns to the System Protection tab in the System Properties dialog box, where protection for the Seagate Expansion Drive is On. [Video description ends] I'm going to go ahead and tell it to create a restore point, and we will call this first. [Video description begins] He clicks Create. A System Protection dialog box opens with options to create a restore point. He is prompted to type a description to help identify the restore point. [Video description ends] And to make it a little more meaningful, I could give it a date. And we can create that. [Video description begins] He types "first_11_09_2019" in the available field and clicks Create. [Video description ends]
Now, the other tabs in here I have separate videos for. But this is a look at the classic system properties which today is accessed as advanced system settings. And there we can see the restore point was successfully created. [Video description begins] He points to the message box that displays. [Video description ends] From now on, my user on this machine will have previous versions of files on that second disk to fail back to.
Windows Firewall
Now, if I come over here and I open up the Start menu, that's in the lower left-hand corner. [Video description begins] A Windows 10 desktop displays. The presenter clicks Start on the taskbar and the Start menu opens. [Video description ends] Or you can hit the Start menu key on your keyboard. I can just go ahead and type "windows firewall." Now, the first thing that you should notice when it comes up in the list is that it's no longer the Windows Firewall. It's the Windows Defender Firewall, which means that it's integrated closely, very deeply, with the Windows Defender anti-malware solution. [Video description begins] He enters the search term in the search field and points to the Windows Defender Firewall option in the search results. [Video description ends]
Now, that leaves administrators in a tricky spot. Because you may have other security software, third-party software implemented firewalls, third-party hardware implemented firewalls, and third-party malware, third-party antivirus, that doesn't work great when the firewall is on, or when Defender is on. They don't play nice together with everybody. And that's certainly the case here at our place. We have third-party solutions that we prefer to the native built-in, as you'll see here. If I go ahead and I launch this applet, [Video description begins] He clicks Windows Defender Firewall, which opens within the Control Panel window. It includes a navigation pane and an associated content area. [Video description ends] you can see that I have this big red Xs, Windows is telling me the firewall is not on. [Video description begins] He points to the content area. Elements such as Domain networks and Private networks are disabled, indicated by red crosses. [Video description ends]
Well, if I look up at the top, there's this yellow information bar that says, for my security, some settings are managed by your system administrator. So as a company, we've determined that the third-party solution is preferable, and does not integrate with the native Windows application. And so we've got it shut off. Now you'll notice, well, let's take a look here. If I choose Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off from the left-hand navigation bar, I see that there are three networks. And I encounter a lot of confusion about what these are out in the market place. [Video description begins] The Customize Settings page opens. There are options to customize settings for each type of network in three sections: Domain network settings, Private network settings, and Public network settings. By default, Windows Defender Firewall is disabled on domain and private networks, and enabled on public networks. [Video description ends] Because two of them you can choose to be on, the public network or the private network.
You'll notice when you're out at Starbucks or when you bring a laptop home for the first time to connect to your home network. When you connect to that network, you are prompted to say, is this a public or private network? And if you're at a secure location like your home, behind your own firewall, or if you're in a customer's office, say behind their firewalls, you could choose Private network settings. If you're out at Starbucks or McDonald's, you choose Public network settings. And the distinction there is that the firewall has different sets of rules for how it behaves if you're in a more secure location or a less secure location. And so you'll notice for Public network settings, I could choose to block all incoming connections including those in the list of applications that I've allowed. [Video description begins] He points to the Public network settings section, which includes a checkbox to Block all incoming connections, including those in the list of allowed apps. [Video description ends] And we're not going to do that here.
Notify me when a Windows Defender wall blocks a new app. [Video description begins] By default, the following checkbox is selected: Notify me when Windows Defender Firewall blocks a new app. [Video description ends ]So I can be notified if something happens. That's on a public network. I have those same choices here on the private network. [Video description begins] He points to the Private network settings, which contain the same options as the Public network settings. [Video description ends]
And then finally, there's the domain network. And this is where I find some of the confusion comes in. Look, the domain network is not a choice. Either there's a domain controller present and the machine can authenticate to it, or there isn't. And so if there's a domain controller present, it's going to implement the domain settings, which will be the least restrictive firewall settings. Because it assumes that you have a secure connection to your domain controller. [Video description begins] He points to the Domain network settings, which contain the same options as the Private and Public network settings. [Video description ends] And generally speaking, that's going to be true, right, virtually always. [Video description begins] He clicks the Back button and returns to Windows Defender Firewall. [Video description ends]
Now, I can come down here in the left-hand navigation bar, there's a choice Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall. [Video description begins] He clicks this option. The Allowed apps page opens. It includes options to add, change, or remove allowed apps and ports. [Video description ends] Now as a user this is what I see, I can't change these, I can't make exceptions. But if I were an administrator on this machine, I would be able to add additional applications in here that would let me allow other applications through the firewall. [Video description begins] He clicks the Back button and returns to Windows Defender Firewall. [Video description ends]
And then finally, down here, the Advanced settings. [Video description begins] He clicks Advanced settings in the navigation pane. The Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security window opens. It includes a navigation pane, content pane, and Actions pane. [Video description ends] And these advanced settings contain a collection of inbound security rules, [Video description begins] He clicks Inbound Rules in the navigation pane. A list of inbound rules displays in the content pane. Each rule includes information such as the name, profile, and if the rule is enabled. [Video description ends] outbound security rules, [Video description begins] He clicks Outbound Rules in the navigation pane. A list of outbound rules displays in the content pane. The rules include information such as the name and profile. [Video description ends] connection security rules, [Video description begins] He clicks this option in the navigation pane. In this case, there are no rules created. [Video description ends] and then finally I can do some monitoring down here. [Video description begins] He expands the Monitoring node in the navigation pane. Subnodes include Firewall, Connection Security Rules, and Security Associations. [Video description ends]
Now, where these are built is at the group policy level. I can't enforce, except the defaults. Microsoft and their vendors have done lots of research, and there's a default set of rules that maximize security while maximizing usability, right? It's the best balance we can find for being most useful and being as secure as we can be on the public Internet today. If I add additional rules, block additional applications, ports et cetera, I'm going to limit the functionality of this machine. And so I don't tend to build these particularly uniquely except in the cases of third-party and proprietary apps that I know I need to get through the firewall. [Video description begins] He clicks Close. Windows Defender Firewall displays. [Video description ends]
And of course, those can easily be pushed out to users through a group policy where I've specified a list of allowed applications, as our system administrators have done here. [Video description begins] He clicks Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall and the Allowed apps page opens. He points to the list of allowed apps and features. [Video description ends]
This is a look at the Windows Defender Firewall in Windows 10.
Power Options
In this demonstration, I'd like to take a look at the power settings. And so, in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, I'll bring up the taskbar and open the Start menu. [Video description begins] A Windows 10 desktop displays. The presenter clicks the Start button on the taskbar and the Start menu displays. [Video description ends] And then I just type what it is I'm looking for. And there I see Power and sleep settings, when I've typed "power." [Video description begins] He types "power" in the search field and points to Power and sleep settings in the search results. [Video description ends]
I'll go ahead and choose Power and sleep settings from the Start menu. [Video description begins] The Settings window opens and the System options display in the navigation pane. The Power and sleep page displays. [Video description ends] And the Power and sleep options open. And I can see in the left navigation pane, I can access many other system settings. [Video description begins] These include Display, Sound, Focus assist, and Storage. [Video description ends] For right now, let's focus on Power and sleep.
Here, the first choice I see, When plugged in, turn off after. And I can specify how long the screen will stay on if I'm not using it. [Video description begins] He points to the Screen section, then expands the When plugged in, turn off after drop-down list. Options include 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 3 hours. [Video description ends] If the machine detects no system activity, when will it shut that monitor off. And mine is set for 30 minutes. [Video description begins] He closes the drop-down list without making changes. [Video description ends]
There's a choice here for Sleep. And I want to highlight to everybody that this sleep choice is different from the hibernate choice that you may have seen in the past. For anybody that's ever struggled with corrupt hiberfil.sys files, and corrupt hard drives, right, that's what you got. If the hiberfil.sys file goes corrupt, you're wiping that machine and you're reloading it in almost all instances. And so that has traditionally been a real pain point for administrators using the hibernate function. The hibernate function actually stops using all electricity, and it writes to the hard drive the data that's in memory, like a memory dump.
Sleep on the other hand, saves all the work, the active work in random memory. And so it continues to draw power, but it draws it very little. As little as the machine could possibly use while preserving your data. And of course, you come out of sleep much faster than hibernate. And that's because you haven't written the data to the disk and essentially shut the machine down. [Video description begins] He points to the Sleep section, which contains the When plugged in, PC goes to sleep after drop-down list. [Video description ends]
Now you'll notice that the hibernate option does not appear here. And you might say to yourself, well, that's because you're on a machine that doesn't support it, you're on a desktop, Murph. Well, that may be the reason, right? In this case, in point of fact, it is the reason, but you can make that appear on machines that are equipped with it. It is not there ever anymore. Microsoft has had too many problems with corrupt hiberfil.sys's. They only left it in because of customer requests, but they hid it. You have to go find it now if you're on compatible hardware. So let me show you that.
There's a choice on the right-hand side for Additional power settings. [Video description begins] This option is found under Related settings. [Video description ends] And over here, I'll choose Additional power settings. [Video description begins] The Power Options display and include options to choose or customize a power plan. The navigation pane includes options such as Choose what the power buttons do, Create a power plan, and Choose when to turn off display. [Video description ends]
Now if this were a compliant piece of hardware, say a laptop. There's a choice, Choose what the power buttons do over on the left-hand side, which is my favorite option in here, by the way. [Video description begins] He clicks the option. The System Settings page opens. It includes options to define power buttons and turn on password protection. [Video description ends] And I can see there's a choice there: Change settings that are currently unavailable. [Video description begins] He points to the link that's available. [Video description ends] To get hibernate to appear on a compliant piece of hardware, you need only hit this little button. [Video description begins] He clicks the link and it no longer displays. [Video description ends]
Now, this is not a compliant piece of hardware, so I don't see it down here. But you should on your laptops from manufacturers that have compliance requirements. [Video description begins] He points to the remaining options on the page, which include sections for Power and sleep button settings, and Shutdown settings. [Video description ends] But I love this, particularly for my laptop, because when I press the sleep button, I don't want anything to happen. [Video description begins] He selects Do nothing from the When I press the sleep button drop-down list. Other options are: Sleep and Turn off the display. [Video description ends] I never press the sleep button, I don't use that mode. I'm either using my machine or it's off.
Now that's a personal choice for me. As a system administrator, if you've wrestled with the hibernate problem, and you decide that you don't want your users to use hibernate at all. What you can do is build a power plan of your own, and then set the hibernate button to Do nothing. And that will effectively lock your users out of using that hibernate ever.
Now, if I hit the Back to Power Options button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, I come back and I see that there's such a thing called a power plan. [Video description begins] He returns to the Power Options page. He points to the Create a power plan link in the navigation pane. [Video description ends] And the balanced power plan is the default in virtually all cases. Automatically balances performance with energy consumption. [Video description begins] The Power Options page includes options to choose or customize a power plan. He points to the Preferred plans section, which has two options: Balanced, which is selected, and Power saver. [Video description ends]
The power saver plan is the default for laptops when they are not plugged in. [Video description begins] In other words, the Power saver plan saves energy by reducing your computer's performance, where possible. [Video description ends ]So the machine can detect whether or not it’s plugged in. And then it can switch between these plans.
Now, if I look in here, Change settings for the plan. [Video description begins] He clicks the Change plan settings link associated with the Balanced option. The Edit Plan Settings page opens. It includes options to choose the sleep and display settings for the specified plan. [Video description ends] Turn off the display after 30 minutes. And again, Put the computer to sleep: Never. That's my choice, right, I've made that choice, that's not the default. [Video description begins] He points to the settings that have been specified for the Balanced power plan. [Video description ends] And then there's a choice here: Change advanced power settings. [Video description begins] He clicks the link and the Power Options dialog box opens on the Advanced settings tab. It includes settings to configure the hard disk, Internet Explorer, and USB settings. [Video description ends]
Now, ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect, the Microsoft Corporation and their vendors have spent literally months in the lab, tweaking these default settings. I don't tend to ever change these settings or build a plan that I will push out to users unless the manufacturer documentation says, tweak this. So when I purchase hardware, if the manufacturer documentation, or the Microsoft documentation, there is a knowledge-based article at Microsoft about a particular tweak, I'll build that tweak into a power plan that I'll then push out to users through group policy.
Other than that, I don't mess with that stuff because I'm not the guy who's spent months in the lab figuring out what worked best. [Video description begins] He clicks Cancel and the dialog box closes. Then he clicks Back and returns to the Power Options page. [Video description ends]
This has been a look at power and sleep options in Windows 10.