Win10 tweaks to improve computing work and play

Win10 tweaks to improve computing work and play

If you’ve spent any time working with Windows 10, you’ve doubtlessly figured out that the new OS isn’t perfect.

Fortunately, in the Windows tradition, Win10’s behavior can be changed to better fit your computing style. Here are six tweaks that you may find useful.

No operating system is perfect, if for no other reason than because every user has his or her unique tastes and work habits. But it’s also true that Microsoft left out some useful features in Win10 that were included in earlier versions of Windows. And it added new things that are more annoying than beneficial.

I won’t discuss aesthetic issues, such as wallpaper and color schemes; I discussed these in my tour through the Windows 10 Start menu (Aug. 6 Briefing Session — paid content). And, with one exception, I won’t cover Win10 privacy; Fred Langa has an excellent overview of that topic in “Working through Win10’s many privacy settings” (Sept. 10 LangaList Plus — paid content).

Instead, I’ll cover ways to make the operating system faster and easier to use.

A sign-in procedure that’s both easy and strong

Chances are good that your Win10 user account is also an online Microsoft account. (Microsoft makes it a bit difficulty to have it otherwise.) Obviously, to be secure, an online account needs a password that’s long and complex — and thus difficult to remember and relatively slow to enter.

As an easier alternative, Win10 lets you set up and use a personal identification number (PIN). This number is never sent out to the Internet, so it doesn’t need to be quite so long and complex as your password.

Most of us assume that a PIN is always a four-digit number, but more digits mean better security. Four digits give 10,000 different PIN combinations. That might sound like a lot, but a good hacker can find ways to work through that number relatively quickly.

What you might not know is that Win10 (unlike Windows 8) lets you set longer PINs. Add another digit and a hacker has to contend with 100,000 possibilities; a six-digit PIN offers a million combinations. I tried a 30-digit PIN in Win10, and it worked! Yes, that’s extreme, but it demonstrates an easily missed Win10 security enhancement.

To set up a PIN, click Start/Settings/Accounts/Sign-in options. Next, click Add under the PIN heading (Figure 1) — or, if you’ve already created a PIN, click Change to make a longer one.

Figure 1. Win10 PINs can be more than four digits.

Now when you sign in, Win10 should ask for a PIN instead of a password. And if it asks for a password instead, select the Sign-in options link and pick the PIN-pad icon.

Keep in mind that you’ll still need to enter your password on occasion — for instance, when booting into Safe Mode. So be careful: when you use just a PIN over a long period of time, it’s easy to forget that long and complex — but secure — password.

Windows 10 also offers a Picture password option, designed primarily for touchscreens. To create a picture password, select a photo on your hard drive and make three gestures on it. But I’m not a fan of this option: it seems slower and more complex than a PIN, and three gestures seem hardly enough. (And grease on your fingers might reveal your gestures.)

Take control of how Windows searches

I rely heavily on Windows’ search function. If I want to load the Device Manager, I simply enter “device manager” — and it pops up. If I want to find files on my drive related to my favorite silent-movie comedian, I search for “buster keaton.” Documents, images, and other file types turn up.

But when I want to search for Buster Keaton on the Internet, I still use a search engine in a browser. To my mind, searching my computer and searching the rest of the digital world are two entirely different jobs.

Windows 10 doesn’t see it that way. By default, using the search box gives you both local and online search results. It also tracks your searches so it can get to know you better. That’s especially the case if you have Cortana enabled. I find that kind of creepy.

So to return to a simple, local search engine, click the Search field and click the “gear” icon that appears on the left border. (If it doesn’t show up, select the icon below Home (which to me looks more like floppy disks; see Figure 2) and then click Settings.)

Start by ensuring that Cortana is turned off, foregoing its suggestions, ideas, reminders, alerts, etc.

Figure 2. Taking control of Win10 searches starts with turning Cortana off.

Next, make sure that the Search online and include web results option is turned off. (At this point, you might want to click the Other privacy settings link and run through Win10’s other privacy settings, discussed in the Sept. 10 LangaList Plus column. You can delete what Microsoft already knows about you and control many other privacy settings. (I told you I’d discuss privacy once in this article.)

Create an easy path to your personal folder

Almost everything you really want on your PC should be inside your Personal folder. It typically contains the standard data folders — Documents, Pictures, Music, Desktop, etc. — plus your custom folders.

Win7 gives you a quick and easy — if not initially obvious — way to open this folder: select Start and then click your name at the top of the start menu.

But do that in Windows 10 and you’ll be asked to change account settings or sign out.

Here are two ways to add a convenient shortcut to your Personal folder. Which you use depends on where you want the shortcut.

If you want it on the Start menu, select Start/Settings/Personalization. Select Start in the left pane and then click the link “Choose which folders appear on Start.” Scroll to the bottom of the next window and turn on Personal folder (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Setting the Personal folder option

With that change, you’ll find “Personal folder” above File Explorer on the Start menu (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Personal folder now in the Start menu

Perhaps you’d like to put a shortcut to your Personal folder in File Explorer’s Quick access section? (That section doubles as File Explorer’s jump list on the taskbar and Start menu.)

Enter %userprofile% into the Win10 search box. Select the %userprofile% system folder when it appears (Figure 5) — this will open the folder in File Explorer. Next, click the Home tab on the ribbon and then click Pin to Quick Access (Figure 6).

Figure 5. Locating %userprofile% via the Win10 search box

Figure 6. Pinning the new Personal folder to File Explorer's Quick access menu

Switch between desktop and tablet modes

Designed from the start for touchscreen and traditional keyboard/mouse use, Win10 includes separate desktop and Metro-like tablet modes. In theory, the OS will automatically run in desktop mode if it senses a keyboard and mouse and in tablet mode when your only input option is the screen.

Apparently, this actually works on some laptop-tablet hybrids (also known as laplets) — primarily those with detachable keyboards such as the Surface Pro. It doesn’t work on my ASUS Transformer Book T100. If you have the same problem on your laplet or if you simply don’t like the mode you’re currently using, swipe leftward from the right edge of the screen to bring up the Action Center. Then tap Tablet mode, shown in Figure 7. (If you’re using a mouse, you can also click the Action Center icon.)

It’s a toggle. If you’re already in Tablet mode, clicking the Tablet mode box will take you to the desktop mode.

Figure 7. Win10's Action Center gives quick access to various options — including switching in and out of Tablet mode.

You can also change modes by clicking Settings/System/Tablet mode. However, the first option, Make Windows more touch-friendly when using your device as a tablet, will probably disappoint you. It’s just another way to manually switch modes. You can do that far more easily from the Action Center.

On the other hand, the other options might prove useful.

• When I sign in: Here you can control what mode Windows defaults to when you boot.
• When this device automatically switches tablet mode on or off: If your laplet automatically switches modes, this option can make Windows ask for permission first.
• Hide app icons on the taskbar in tablet mode: This puts the icons on your desktop taskbar onto your tablet taskbar. I recommend turning it on.
  

  Figure 8. The Hide app icons … option

Take control of your Win10 notifications

When I’m really busy, the last thing I want is messages popping up in the corner of my screen. I’ll suffer that annoyance from my antivirus program, but I don’t appreciate being constantly informed that I have new email — or that something “wonderful” is on sale.

Win10 provides a clear and easy way to control notifications. You’ll find it at Settings/System/Notifications & actions. Look for the Notification section (see Figure 9) below “Quick actions.”

Figure 9. Win10 offers numerous ways to control system and application notifications.

You can quickly turn off different types of notifications — for Windows, applications, and reminders that pop up on the lock screen. You can also suspend all reminders during a presentation.

Scrolling down the Notification section, you’ll find a list of programs that have their own notifications; these can be turned off individually.

Add a sleeker, faster Start menu to the taskbar

Okay, this next tip isn’t new to Win10 — in fact, it works even in Win7. But I find that it’s more useful in both Win8.1 and Win10.

If you have many programs, Win10’s Start menu can become cumbersome. So you might want to augment it with a small, fast menu of installed programs — especially one that supports submenus.

Two caveats: The options on this menu are too small to easily select via a touchscreen; you’ll need a mouse or other pointing device. Second, it doesn’t show Metro/Modern/Universal apps.

To create the menu, right-click the taskbar and select Toolbars/New toolbar. This pops up the standard file-open dialog box (Figure 10). In the folder field, type (or cut and paste from this article) the following file path into the Folder field. (Note: Simply navigating to the folder probably won’t work.) Next, click Select Folder.

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Figure 10. Entering the full path for the Programs folder

The resulting menu item, called Programs, will appear on the taskbar, immediately to the left of the notification area. Click the chevron next to the name, and a pop-up menu will appear (Figure 11).

Figure 11. The new Programs menu gives quick access to installed applications.

Each of the listed applications is a shortcut file, and each submenu is a folder. Using File Explorer, you can create new folders, into which you can drag-and-drop shortcuts and folders. To get there, right-click the word Programs next to the chevron and select Open Folder. (Note that every change within the folder will be challenged by a UAC prompt.)

The bottom line: In the best of Windows traditions, there are many ways to customize Win10. But you have to dig a little to make it the best possible version of itself — for you.

Solving very different Win10 upgrade problems

Some Windows users never got their requested Win10 upgrade; others didn’t want it, but found the huge setup files on their PCs anyway. Here’s how to fix both problems.

Plus: A PC boots erratically after a hard-drive replacement, notes on Win10’s unusual backup system, and information on the new Win7 “telemetry updates.”

Taking control of the Win10 upgrade process

Robert Miller signed up for the Win10 upgrade, but it never arrived. Other Windows Secrets readers have complained that it arrived, unbidden.

Imagine discovering that Microsoft had downloaded and stored an inactive, “just in case you want it later” set of the bulky (3GB+) Win10 installation files. The loss of that much disk space can be a real concern on systems with modest hard drives.

Fortunately, both problems are easily corrected.

First, here’s Robert’s note:

• “It’s now mid-September, and I’m still waiting for Microsoft to upgrade my Win8.1 box to Win10.

  “I registered for the update, and the Win10 icon is in the lower right of the screen. But there’s no indication when the update will occur. Is something amiss?”

Yes, it sounds like something went wrong with your upgrade request.

On both Win7 and Win8, you can check the upgrade status in Windows Update (Control Panel/System and Security/Windows Update). It’ll be totally obvious when Win10 is ready to install (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Win7/8 Windows Update applet (Win7 shown) clearly tells you when Win10 is ready to install.

If you’re not seeing that after months of waiting, it’s likely that the automated system for downloading the upgrade failed.

But don’t worry: you can easily trigger a manual upgrade with just a few clicks. Here’s how.

When you and your system are ready for the upgrade (i.e., your system is running well, and you’ve made a full backup), download the free Win10 Windows Media Creation Tool (site). Be sure to choose the version that matches the bittedness (x32 or x64) of the system you’re about to upgrade.

Run the tool and select the Upgrade this PC now option (Figure 2) when offered; then follow the on-screen prompts.

Figure 2. The free Win10 Media Creation Tool lets you upgrade any eligible Win7/8 system on demand.

That’s all it takes! Your Win10 upgrade will be exactly the same as if you’d used the Windows Update method.

The flip side: How to delete unwanted Win10 upgrade files:

If you don’t want the Win10 upgrade but you know or suspect that the bulky installation files are already on your system, you can easily remove them. Here’s how.

• Set your copy of File/Windows Explorer to Show hidden files. To do so, click Control Panel/Appearance and Personalization/Folder Options (or, possibly, File Explorer Options in Win8). In the View tab’s Advanced settings list, find Show hidden files, folders, and drives and enable it; then click OK to finish.
• Navigate to C:\ and then look for a folder called Windows.~BT.
• If it’s there, right-click it and select Properties to check its size.
• If Windows.~BT is very large — typically, 2GB to 6GB — then it likely does contain the as-yet-unused Win10 upgrade files.
• If Windows.~BT is significantly smaller, then it should be left alone.

In either case, don’t delete the Windows.~BT folder; it’s a system folder. To correctly remove unwanted upgrade files without causing additional problems, use any of the methods discussed in the Jan. 9, 2014, LangaList Plus column, “Clean out obsolete, space-consuming update files.”

Note that a Windows.~BT folder might still remain after cleaning — though it’ll be much smaller. This is normal; leave the folder alone.

To prevent the upgrade files from being re-offered, open Windows Update, and then click the Show all available updates link on the opening Upgrade to Windows 10 screen (Figure 3). Right-click the Win10 upgrade and select Hide update (see Figure 4).

Figure 3. Click the Show all available updates link to access and hide the Win10 upgrade offer.

Figure 4. If you don't want the Win10 upgrade, right-click it in Windows Update and select Hide update.

If you decide at some later time to upgrade to Windows 10, use the techniques described above to run a manual download and upgrade.

Erratic startup after hard drive replacement

Dave Scott replaced a failing hard drive, but now his system behaves worse than before.

• “About a month ago, I began getting warning messages that my hard drive was failing. I had a computer tech clone my old drive to a new one. All data and programs transferred properly, and once the PC boots, the new hard drive functions as it should.

  “However, the system now intermittently hangs on starts. Sometimes it’ll boot normally, but most of the time the monitor shows a ‘going to sleep’ message, the power light on the tower stays on, and I can hear normal PC sounds — but it won’t start.

  “When that happens, I have to press-and-hold the power button to power down; I then turn the computer back on — sometimes up to three times to get a full system start.

  “The same thing happens intermittently on restarts (‘warm boots’).

  “The tech who replaced the drive couldn’t figure it out, and I’ve searched the Web, but I can’t find the answer. Any ideas, Fred?”

Sorry, Dave, but I have good news and bad news.

The bad news: your original hard-drive problem might have only been a symptom of an entirely different issue.

For example, a malfunctioning power supply can affect all hardware subsystems, including hard drives, display, and the Advanced Configuration & Power Interface (ACPI) system that controls sleep/suspend modes. In fact, a failing power supply could explain all the symptoms you describe!

The good news is that most desktop/tower power supplies are inexpensive and plug-and-play easy to replace. The total repair typically takes 10 to 15 minutes, requires no special knowledge, and no tools other than a standard screwdriver.

Here are the usual steps for swapping in a new power supply:

• Order an exact replacement power supply for your brand and model PC from the OEM or third-party Web sources.
• Turn off the PC, unplug it from the wall socket, and open the case.
• Make note of where every power lead goes — sketch a diagram or take a photo with your smartphone for a visual record. You can also use something like masking tape and a marker to label each power lead.
• Unplug the existing leads, unscrew the old power supply from its mount, and lift it from the case.
• Attach the new power supply just like old one and then use your photo, diagram, or labels to hook up the cables back as they were before.
• Button up the case, plug the PC back into the wall socket, and boot up.

Another option would be to take your PC to a qualified repair shop and have them measure the output of your current power supply. They can then replace it if it’s not up to specifications. However, even if the power supply is fine, you’ll probably spend more than you would simply replacing the supply. You’ll have to decide which method works best for you.

Other possibilities for your start/restart troubles include a defective new hard drive, a failing mainboard, or some other problematic component. But a bad power supply is the only component I can think of that ties together all the failures you describe — the initial drive failure, an ongoing inability to boot reliably with a new drive, erratic ACPI operation, and so on.

If your system is high-mileage, you might consider replacing it entirely — if one part is wearing out, others are sure to follow. You could use your new hard drive as secondary storage in the new system. Still, a total system replacement is a larger expense, and you’ve already sprung for a new drive.

In your situation, I’d try a new power supply and replace it myself. Good luck!

Win10’s very different backup methods

Raymond Rose is pondering an upgrade to Win10 from Win7, but he wants more information on Win10’s backup methods.

• “I am using Windows 7. You did a wonderful job of telling everyone about the backup systems built into all previous Windows OS’s. Do you have similar instructions for Windows 10?”

Win10’s built-in backup system has almost nothing in common with Win7’s. It’s actually an improved version of Win8’s more sophisticated backup method. The new Win8/10 method takes some getting used to, but — if implemented correctly — it can be truly excellent.

You can, of course, use numerous third-party backup tools with Win10.

I’m working on an article on Win10 backup methods; it’ll appear in an upcoming Windows Secrets.

In the meantime, you can get the gist of Win10’s built-in backups by reading our story on Win8’s system — see the Jan. 15 Top Story, “Mastering Windows 8’s backup/restore system.”

About Microsoft’s new “telemetry updates”

Paul Kalinsky is one of several readers concerned about new updates that alter the error/condition reporting in Windows. The latest ones adjust Win7 to behave more like Win8/10.

• “I am seeing a lot of chatter about Win7 updates installing ‘telemetry’ functions that can’t be turned off easily. (They might require Registry alterations.) This is automatically sending a lot of information behind the scenes to MS.”

This is a complex issue, so please read this answer all the way to the end. The following information might change your initial impressions.

Microsoft describes the new telemetry updates in MS Support article 3068708.

As noted in that article, the recent updates are related to Microsoft’s Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) — one of several Microsoft software telemetry functions.

If you opted in to Windows’ CEIP (or the related but separate CEIPs for other Microsoft products such as Office), then yes, the built-in telemetry code will send information to Microsoft. But that data doesn’t include information that could be used to identify you personally. Instead, it includes generic data that’s not tied to any specific individual, such as where software problems occurred and which software features are used or not used.

Microsoft uses the collected data to identify trouble spots in Windows, the hardware, and applications. That data is used to improve the reliability and feature mix of future updates and products.

Microsoft’s Win7 data collection — what and why it’s collected plus how the data will be used — is governed by the published Win7 Privacy Statement. (If you’re interested, also see the Win8 and Win10 Privacy Statements.)

This kind of data collection is pretty standard. For example, see Apple’s published privacy policy and Google’s policy.

But if the new Win7 telemetry bothers you, it’s easy to opt out of CEIP-related functions:

• Open Control Panel and enter Customer into the search box. Click the Change Customer Experience Improvement Program settings link when it appears.
• The Customer Experience Improvement Program dialog box will open; select Yes, I want to participate in the program (i.e., opt in; see Figure 5) or No, I don’t want to … (i.e., opt out) as you prefer.
  

  Figure 5. Win7's voluntary Customer Experience Improvement Program sends error and experiential data back to Microsoft for diagnostic purposes.

Win8’s CEIP settings work much the same way; currently, Win10’s CEIP is off by default and is not adjustable. However, Win10 contains other and similar telemetry functions.

Note: Opting out of Windows’ CEIP won’t automatically disable other CEIP modules for apps such as Office, Media Player, and some versions of Internet Explorer. It also won’t suppress other error-reporting, Windows Update communications, and so on.

This is one of the reasons why some users report: “I disabled Windows’ CEIP but there’s still data going back to Microsoft!” If you want to totally withdraw from all CEIP activity, you’ll have to opt out of each separate CEIP instance. (Check your software’s help files or do a Web search using the exact name and version of the software you’re seeking to change.)

To shut down all Microsoft non-CEIP telemetry, you’ll have to disable error-reporting, stop using Windows Update, stop doing all IE/Edge/Cortana and Bing Web searches, disable all Microsoft anti-malware, uninstall all cloud-based or cloud-augmented Microsoft products, and so forth.

Again, almost every Web-connected vendor, service, or site collects various amounts of data. To avoid all software telemetry, you’ll have to cease using Apple, Google, Android, or commercial Linux products — and probably unplug from the Internet, too.

You’ll be totally safe — but totally disconnected, and your system will be almost useless.

I think a more reasonable approach is to check out the abundant explanatory information for exactly what software telemetry does and doesn’t do. Then, you can make an informed decision about what to allow or disallow.

For example, here’s a small sampling of the information available on Microsoft’s CEIP and other telemetry:

• “Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program” – MS product page
• “Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2” – MS TechNet
• “Customer Experience Improvement Program/Windows Server” – TechNet
• “Overview of Office Telemetry” –TechNet
• “Participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program/Office” – Office support page

A little paranoia and skepticism is healthy. But I’ve not seen a shred of real evidence — even on the most rabid, tinfoil-hat, “Microsoft is out to get you!” sites — that CEIP or any other Microsoft telemetry is doing anything illicit or improper. That includes keyboard logging, password-harvesting, or similarly nefarious things.

The information’s available to you; draw your own conclusions and make your own choice — and regularly review your privacy settings for all software and services you use.

Wrapping up an eventful summer of patching

September’s nonsecurity updates consist mostly of fixes and enhancements for Windows 8.1

Plus: How to disable the Windows 10 upgrade offers on Win7 and Win8/8.1 PCs and what you should know immediately about Office 2016.

3087040

A late update for Flash Player in IE

Traditionally, security updates released by Microsoft after Patch Tuesday were termed “out of cycle” or “out of band.” But those labels have lost their meaning with Windows 10 and its associated applications. Office 365, for example, might see updates at any time. This week, Microsoft released a security update for the Flash Player that’s built into IE 10 and 11 — and the new Edge browser in Win10.

For earlier platforms, Adobe has released Version 19.0.0.185, as noted in a Sept. 21 Security Bulletin. Microsoft doesn’t rate the fix, but Adobe states that it’s critical. If it’s not installed automatically in your Chrome, Firefox, or IE browser, you can grab it at the Flash Player download site.

Keeping Flash up to date is important, but as I’ve said numerous times before, the safer option is to uninstall or block Flash. Ask yourself whether you really need it. A How-To Geek post tells how to block Flash in Win8 and Win10. Also, Microsoft Security Advisory 2755801 gives detailed instructions for disabling Flash in both IE and Office.

There are reports of error messages when installing this update. But as noted in a MS TechNet Forum post, manually downloading and installing the patch usually solves from the problem. You’ll find download links in the MS Support page given immediately below.

What to do: KB 3087040 will be installed automatically on Win10 systems; install the patch when offered on Win8 machines. And check that all your browsers are up to date.

September recap of Windows nonsecurity fixes

Microsoft gave us a bit of a break this month. The released nonsecurity patches are less about Win10-upgrade preparation and more about fixes for Windows 8.1. Here’s the list:

• KB 2999226 – Vista, Win7, Win8/8.1, Server 2008, Server 2012; Allows apps that require the Universal C RunTime component to run on earlier Windows versions
• KB 3073874 – Win8/8.1, Server 2012; Compatibility update for devices connected to the Microship HUB
• KB 3080042 – Win8.1, Server 2012 R2; help file freezes
• KB 3080079 – Win7, Server 2008; adds TLS 1.1/1.2 support to Remote Desktop Services — needed only on domain-attached systems
• KB 3080800 – Win8.1; “Access violation (c0000005)” error on NcdAutoSetup service crash
• KB 3082353 – Win8.1, Server 2012 R2; Crash on IPSec-tunnel setup
• KB 3083729 – Server 2012 R2; on servers with Windows Deployment Services, high CPU use when clients start over TFTP.
• KB3084905 – Win8.1; Trusted Platform Module lockout
• KB3087041 – Win8.1; can’t touch-select first item in list
• KB3087137 – Win8.1; incorrect gradient rendering with apps using nested, transformed geometries
• KB3087390 – Win8.1, Server 2012 R2, application crash with 0x8002801D error

What to do: These updates are optional — install them only if needed.

3033055

Microsoft Windows RT gets a bone

Windows RT has become with unwanted step child of the MS Surface line. No doubt, the sooner it goes way, the happier Microsoft will be. If you own one of these devices, you’re not completely ignored.

No, Windows RT and Windows RT 8.1 tablets won’t get any real enhancements, but at least Win RT 8.1 will get fixes and security updates until early 2023.

KB 3033055 gives RT 8.1 users a new Start menu. Once you install the update, you must go into the taskbar properties and enable the new UI. A Windows Central article gives a tutorial on the new look.

What to do: KB 3033055 is optional, but you’ll probably want to install it.

Disabling the upgrade-to-Windows 10 nag

If you’re perfectly happy with your Win7 or Win8.1 setup, you can ensure that you’re not bothered anymore by the Win10-upgrade offer sitting on your taskbar — or a 6GB upgrade folder taking up space on your hard drive. Fred Langa discusses hiding the related update in this week’s LangaList Plus. But a possibly surer method is to edit the Windows Registry.

The process is described in a TechJourney blog post. But I particularly recommend adding the following Registry key; it will ensure that even new Win10-upgrade offers will fail to run on your system. Here’s how:

• Open Windows’ regedit (you’ll have to accept a UAC warning).
• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows and then right-click Windows.
• Select New and then Key, then enter Gwx for the key’s name.
• With Gwx selected, right-click the right pane again, select New/Dword 32bit Value.
• Double-click the new value; name it DisableGwx and enter 1 for the value.

When you’re done, you should see the entry shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Adding a new key into the Windows Registry can block future Win10 offers.

What to do: Not everyone need or wants Windows 10. Feel free to block Microsoft’s attempts to install the new OS on your Win7 or Win8.1 system.

Microsoft debuts the next version of Office

As noted on the Office Blogs site, Office 2016 was officially released on Tuesday. The first thing you need to know about the upgrade is that you’ll no longer be able to run your installed Office 2013.

Office 365 users will get be upgraded soon. You can either sign in to your MS account and request an immediately upgrade, or wait until you get a notification in your taskbar. Generally, I’m cautious about early upgrades to my production systems, but if you have Office 356 installed on a test system, now’s a good time to take a look at the new Office.

Reportedly, the enhancements include more color!
The drab grays and lack of contrast on Office 2013 drew a lot of complaints..

Volume-license customers will get the release on Oct. 1. Those who installed the ProPlus version will have to have patience.

What to do: Take Office 2016 for a test drive if you can, before upgrading your production systems.

MS15-097 (3087039, 3087135)

Green light for Windows graphics fix

As we noted in the first September Patch watch, gamers were warned to be wary of the patches in MS15-097. They were designed to fix Microsoft Graphics Component vulnerabilities that could allow elevated-privilege exploits or bypassing the Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR) security system. But the update broke games that require the Macrovision SafeDisk driver — secdrv.sys. (The driver is used for an anti-piracy service, and the update turned the service off.)

Fortunately, there are no reports of problems with mainstream applications. The update was rated critical for Vista and Windows Server 2008; important for other Windows versions. (Related critical updates include KB 3085529 and KB 3085546 for Office 2007/2010 and KB 3085500 for Microsoft Lync 2013.

What to do: Install KB 3087039 and/or KB 3087135 (MS15-097) as soon as possible.

3096053

UPDATE: A patch to help install another patch

Windows 8 users might run into problems installing KB 3069114 (MS15-098), a fix for the Windows Journal, discussed in the Sept. 10 Patch Watch. The patch fails due to a corruption problem.

Once KB 3096053 is installed, you should be able to add KB 3069114. Note, however, that there is a brief delay during the process of installing KB 3096053; Wait a few minutes before trying KB 3069114 again.

What to do: Install KB 3096053 if offered.

September’s list of nonsecurity updates

Of the numerous nonsecurity fixes released this month, the one I strongly recommend installing is KB 3092627 — especially for Windows 7. The patch fixes a problem with slow sign-ins that appeared after the August updates. The following patches are all optional.

Vista, Win7, Win8/8.1

• 3083324 – Win7; improvements to Windows Update Client
• 3092627 – Fix for slow sign-ins

Windows 10

• 3081454 – Upgrading compatibility

Office 2007/2010

• 3085513 – PowerPoint 2010; IRM presentation errors, “Update Links” issues
• 3085518 – Word 2010; various fixes
• 3085525 – Outlook 2010 junk-mail filter
• 3055042 – Office 2010; English proofing, worksheet printing format errors
• 3055047 – Excel 2010; formatting issues when saving sheet as PDF
• 3085516 – Office 2010; various fixes
• 3085522 – Outlook 2010; permissions warning, “public group” errors
• 3085531 – Project 2010; “Units” value error in Resources tab
• 3085547 – Outlook 2007 junk-mail filter

Office 2013

• 3023050 – Publisher; enables SSO, active accounts can’t open files
• 3039739 – Excel; Power Query failures
• 3039766 – Word; crashes after using People Picker
• 3054923 – Office; additions to PowerPoint object model, formatting issues on save
• 3055010 – Office; Kazakh translations
• 3055011 – Office; English proofing
• 3085478 – PowerPoint; additions to object model, enables SSO, open-file issues
• 3085479 – Office; enables SSO, active accounts can’t open files
• 3085480 – Office; various fixes and enhancements
• 3085490 – Update for Microsoft Word 2013
• 3085491 – OneNote; enables SSO; Rich Text docs imported as images
• 3085493 – Office; enables SSO, active accounts can’t open files
• 3085495 – Outlook; numerous fixes and enhancements
• 3085499 – Office; junk-mail filter
• 3085503 – Access; enables SSO for ADAL, formatting issues with DBSC text
• 3085504 – Office; SSL 3.0, TLS 1.1, and TLS 1.2 support, OneDrive file-merge errors
• 3085506 – Excel; formatting issues when saving sheet as PDF

Other updates

• 3054870 – SharePoint Server 2013; spell-check stalls and error messages
• 3054967 – SharePoint Server 2010 Excel Web App; menus missing after IE 11 update
• 3054998 – SharePoint Server 2013; English proofing
• 3055032 – SharePoint Server 2010; English proofing
• 3055036 – SharePoint Server 2010; menu items missing after IE 11 update
• 3055043 – SharePoint Server 2010 Office Web Apps; English proofing
• 3085481 – SharePoint Server 2013; various fixes
• 3085484 – Visio 2013; enables SSO and other fixes
• 3085505 – Project Server 2013; various fixes
• 3085510 – Project Server 2013; various fixes
• 3085524 – SharePoint Server 2010; “User not found” errors
• 3085527 – Project Server 2010; status updating failure
• 3085530 – SharePoint Foundation 2010; menu items missing after IE 11 update

What to do: Install these updates as you see fit.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. Status changes are highlighted in bold.

For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.

Preparing for bad digital-life eventualities

Lounge member Rhinoceros has been thinking about economical ways to recover from a system failure.

He’s particularly concerned about recovery when his machine won’t boot.

So he asked his fellow Loungers in the Non-Microsoft OSes forum for opinions on using Linux as a recovery tool. Discussion naturally ensued. You could find it instructive.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	Change ribbon-icon size for Office 2010
Word Processing	Word 2010 error: “Word can’t undo this action. Do you want to continue?”
Spreadsheets	Radio buttons on a form
Databases	Update Access table with update query using Excel data?
Microsoft Outlook	Repair tools for Outlook
Non-Outlook E-mail	Can’t delete messages in Hotmail (Outlook.com)
Other MS Apps	Not finding OneNote notebooks
Windows
General Windows	Windows backup running out of space
Windows 10	Build 10547 and network computer
Windows 8	No drive letter when connecting phone
Windows 7	HP laptop SSD replacement problem
Windows Vista	Need to do nondestructive repair on Vista
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer and Edge	Searching for lost Favorite
Third-Party Browsers	Chrome freezing
Networking	Daisy-chain Wi-Fi?
Social Media	Can people on Skype be traced?
Other Technologies
Non-Microsoft OSes	Backing up Windows 7 using Linux
Security & Scams	YouTube ads brought malware
Maintenance	Macrium Reflect ability?
Hardware	Looking for silent laptop
Graphics/Multimedia	Recommend DVD authoring app?
Other Applications	TeamViewer resolution changes for remote machine

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.

If Henri, le chat noir, were your host

We realized recently that we had not been keeping up with Henri, the famous Seattle feline philosopher. We’re happy to report that Henri continues to think out loud. On the other hand, he’s had occasion to consider canine nature since the last time we visited him. You might imagine that Henri’s musings aren’t likely to lead to the complete happiness of any dog he studies. Too bad for the sweet dog in this video. Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Office 2012: We never really got to know ya

This Tuesday, Microsoft released the next Office, and in many ways it parallels the release of Windows 10.

Sharing is a new theme with Office 2016 but not the only one — colors return.

Chances are high that if you’re using Office 2013, it’s because you signed up for an Office 365 subscription. Having a perfectly good copy of Office 2010, and, like many others, not being a fan of the stark new UI, I relegated the 2013 version to one of my test systems.

For the daily work of getting the newsletter out, Office 2010 worked just fine; thank you very much.

But a large part of my job is looking at new Windows technology, and the easiest path to getting a peek at the new Office was via a subscription. Primarily, I wanted to see whether Microsoft made its productivity apps easier to view.

With a new Office subscription installed and running, I found the answer to be, not surprisingly, yes and no.

Office 2013 introduced the concept of UI themes in what seemed a half-hearted attempt to add some user customization. But it’s a feature I suspect most users simply ignored. Office 2016 has essentially the same set of background patterns, but adds a “Colorful” theme (see Figure 1), which on my new Office 365/2016 installation was set by default. (Office 2013 offered “Light Gray,” “Dark Gray,” and “White.”)

Figure 1. Office 2016's new Colorful theme

From a readability perspective, I found Outlook 2013 most problematic, especially when compared to the familiar Outlook 2010. For me, and reportedly for many others, the nearly all white look of 2013 made reading messages more tedious. The new Colorful theme for all new Office apps is somewhat better; gone, for example, are the all-caps tab labels. For example, Figure 2 shows Excel 2013 versus Excel 2016.

Figure 2. Excel 2013 above; the new Excel 2016 below

(Unfortunately, Microsoft made comparing the two latest versions of Office somewhat difficult; I could not have the two versions of Office running at the same time.)

Again, enhanced sharing is the hot new thing in Office 2016. For example, the official Office Blogs post describes real-time co-authoring, which lets groups of online-connected collaborators see changes to a document in real time — a feature that’s been in Google Docs for a while.

There are some obvious similarities between Win10 and Office 365. As the aforementioned Office Blogs post makes clear, Microsoft plans to add enhancements to both platforms on a somewhat continuous basis. The upgrade path is also similar. As we’ve said many times in Windows Secrets, upgrading from Win8.1 to Win10 is nearly a given; upgrading from Win7 — not so much.

That could also be said for Office. If you’re comfortable with Office 2013, it’s likely you’ll be happy with Office 2016. But many Office 2010 users will probably stick with what they have until they’re forced to upgrade. (A standalone copy of Office 2016 starts at U.S. $150, but Office 365 is, in most cases, the better value.)

Look for more detailed coverage of Office 2016 in future Windows Secrets articles.

A new release of Windows 10 Insider Preview

For those of you who stayed in the Windows Insider program, Microsoft has released build 10547. But so far, I’ve been unable to get it installed. (Just seeing a notification of the new build in Windows Update required multiple sessions with Windows Update and reboots.)

There are, however, numerous posts about the new build available online — see, for example, a SuperSite for Windows page and a MS Blogging Windows post.

For anyone who follows Windows news, these builds give you a glimpse of new features that will likely show up in a future Win10 update.

One more note on Win10 Preview and VirtualBox. The easiest way to run the preview editions of Windows is in a virtual machine. My preference has been Oracle’s VirtualBox, mostly because I’m familiar with its peculiarities.

Unfortunately, when Win10 Preview build 10525 was released, VirtualBox wasn’t quite ready for running on a Win10 host. Recently, I installed VB Version 5.0.3, and it seems to be working well. Specifically, I no longer have the video-driver issues. As with our browsers, it pays to keep virtual-machine applications up to date.

A last enhancement for Microsoft’s Surface RT

As Susan Bradley noted in this week’s Patch Watch, Microsoft threw perhaps its last bonus to those pioneers who purchased the original Surface. I happen to have one of those early MS tablets, and it’s not ready for recycling. So anything that will bring the Surface RT more up to date is to be applauded.

The update — KB 3033055 — replaces the Metro-style start screen with a start menu. Once you install the update, a new tab shows up in the taskbar Properties box. To enable the change, check the box next to “Use the Start menu instead of the start screen.” The new Start menu looks much like Win10’s. It’s one more nail in the Metro coffin. Sweet!

Now if only I could find a use for my classic iPad.