Category: Software

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts that save me a lot of time, and two that do not

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows supports hundreds of different keyboard shortcuts. Some of them basic, like pressing the Windows-key to open the Start menu. Others more advanced, like pressing Ctrl-Shift-Esc to open the Task Manager.

Not all shortcuts are equally useful. While usefulness depends somewhat on how you use Windows, some shortcuts are certainly more useful than others.

The following shortcuts are the ones that I use most often. They save me a lot of time on my day to day work.

The timesavers

Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V

The shortcut pair copies and pastes your selections. This works in Explorer with files and folders, but also for text and anything else that you may select.

  • Ctrl-C — Copies the selection to the Clipboard.
  • Ctrl-V — Pastes the Clipboard entry into the active application.

Windows-I

The shortcut opens the Settings on Windows 10 or 11 machines directly.

Windows-X

The “secret” menu opens when you use the shortcut. It displays a number of links to admin tools such as the Device Manager, Network settings, and more.

Windows-[left or right]-arrow

The shortcut snaps the active window to the left or the right side of the screen. Useful to display two apps or windows side-by-side in a matter of seconds.

Ctrl-S

To quickly save content. Most programs that support save operations support this. You can use it in an image or text editor to quickly save content, and in many other apps as well.

Ctrl-P

To print a document, image, or other content quickly. The shortcut opens the print dialog right away.

The superfluous shortcuts

The next two shortcuts are not really that useful, as you can use quicker actions for the same effect.

Ctrl-Esc

The keyboard shortcut opens the Start menu on Windows. There is not really a need for this shortcut, as you can also press the Windows-key, which is faster.

Windows-S

This particular shortcut opens the search interface. It is not really needed either, as you can also search when you open the Start menu. So, pressing Windows and starting to type the search term should be sufficient for most users and most cases.

Now You: do you have shortcuts that you use regularly? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Microsoft is removing this category from the official Store

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

I do not know a single Windows user who is using the Microsoft Store regularly. Microsoft has not revealed how successful the store is, which likely means that it is not successful enough to boast about it.

The company has tried various changes in the past. A recent change, announced at the end of last year, is being removed again already.

Arcade, or Arcade Games, was an attempt to replicate functionality known from mobile stores. It allows customers to play games instantly without installing them first.

Related article:

Looking for Windows Wallpapers? Microsoft has a download site for them

The idea is not bad: give customers an option to try a game for free. This allows them to test the game to see if they like it. If they do, they install the game and can continue playing.

The idea suffered from a lackluster implementation:

  • The listing includes about 50 games only.
  • It lacked a stream of fresh, new games.
  • The games were very basic for the most part.

When you open the Arcade section in the Microsoft Store, you may notice an announcement at the top. It informs you that the section is being removed today from the Store.

It is easy to overlook, as the title “Play free games with no download” makes no mention of the closure of the section.

The games remain available, but you need to download them before you may start playing. This should not be much of a problem, as most of the games appear relatively small in size and functionality.

Closing Words

Arcade seemingly did not have the effect that Microsoft hoped it would have. The same can probably be said for the Microsoft Store, but it is nowadays also used to update apps installed by default on Windows devices.

Now You: have you tried the Microsoft Store in recent time? Maybe even downloaded a game or app? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

The way you connect to public Wi-Fi networks is changing on Android

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google is about to roll out a change on Android that changes how captive portals are opened.

Tip: I never connect to open Wi-Fi networks because of security and privacy concerns. I do use the option to create instant hotspots on Android using my mobile device when possible, which is much safer. Clearly, this works only if you do have mobile coverage on Android.

Good to know: Captive Portals are webpages that are displayed by public wireless networks before Internet access is granted.

The change moves Captive Portal entry pages from being displayed using Android WebView to Android Custom Tabs.

The main benefit of the change is that saved passwords, autofill data and session data becomes available from the default system browser; this may benefit users who sign-in to specific portals regularly.

Some portals may ask users to sign-in to social media accounts or share personal data. This may be cumbersome without autofill support, and the update changes that.

So, if you trust a public Wi-Fi, you may now sign-in faster, if it asks for login data or personal information.

Note that the change is not enabled yet according to Android Authority.

How to remove “OneDrive” from the Windows 11 Explorer menu

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft introduced a new File Explorer context menu in Windows 11. This streamlined menu replaced the classic menu by default, but users can still open it from the new context menu or by holding down the Shift-key before they right-click.

Windows 11 has been around for a few years now, and some Windows 11 users may have noticed that the new context menu has grown in size since then. This is understandable to a degree. Third-party app developers learned how to add entries to the new menu so that links to their apps were shown directly to users.

Good to know:

Fixing OneDrive’s “Creating shareable link…” error loop that never ends

Microsoft did add a fair share of items to the context menu as well. You may notice a OneDrive folder, a Share with Skype option, an Edit with Notepad option for any file type and more there now.

Chance is, you may not need all of them. This guide explains how to remove the OneDrive entry.

Tip: you can remove the apps, if you do not use them, to get rid of the context menu items. If you do use them, you may follow the guide to remove them while leaving the apps untouched.

Remove OneDrive from Windows 11’s context menu

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Type regedit.exe and press the Enter-key
  3. Select Yes to continue.
  4. Paste HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked into the Path at the top and press the Enter-key.
  5. Right-click on Blocked.
  6. Select New > String value.
  7. Name it {1FA0E654-C9F2-4A1F-9800-B9A75D744B00}.
  8. Double-click on the value.
  9. Set its name to OneDrive.

The change takes effect on the next restart. You may also log off and then on again, or restart the explorer.exe process.

The OneDrive listing should no longer be visible in the context menu afterwards. Note that this does not impact any other OneDrive functionality on the device. Also note that this applies only to the user account under which the change was made.

Now You: how do you handle context menu entries that you do not need? Do you remove them to streamline the context menu or keep and ignore them? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Microsoft to manipulate Mail and Calendar in Windows so that they become unusable in 2025

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

In less than two months, Microsoft will manipulate Windows Mail and Calendar on Windows systems so that they stop working. Microsoft announced the change, in less drastic words, in an update to the Outlook for Windows support page.

There, Microsoft writes:

Support for Windows Mail, Calendar, and People will end on December 31, 2024. We’re currently in the process of moving existing users to the new Outlook for Windows. After December 31, 2024, users will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar.

The change is a culmination of Microsoft’s decision to create and push a new Outlook application to all users. Microsoft confirms that it is migrating users to the new Outlook for Windows.

Microsoft is not shy to point out the benefits and features of the new Outlook. Not all of them are unique or new though.

  • Use AI to “write better emails”.
  • Free and no subscription nedded.
  • Access all your emails in one location.
  • Organize appointments “in one click.
  • Feel secure.
  • Use Microsoft 365 free on the web and “with the click of a button”.
  • Stay organized thanks to universal search and more.
  • Unify accounts.

Not everyone is happy

Part of the userbase sees the change critically, as the new Outlook lacks some features of the classic Mail and Calendar app. On top of that, it has other deficiencies as well.

Users who miss the date may still export their data to the new Outlook, according to Microsoft. They may use the toggle under Settings > General > About Outlook in the new Outlook app to go back to the Outlook for Windows app. The limitations still apply though.

Those who are not satisfied with the new Outlook for Windows app may also switch to another email client. Thunderbird, the open source client that recently got its own Android version, comes to mind.

There are others and most allow you to import data from other clients.

Note: The change does not affect the classic Outlook application for Windows at this point. Microsoft stated in the past already, however, that it will put the classic Outlook to rest as well eventually.

Windows Mail was the default free email client of Windows for several years. The total number of users who use it is unclear, as Microsoft has never revealed usage numbers.

Have you tried the new Outlook for Windows? What is your take on this change? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Windows Updates Viewer

Windows Update Viewer: little helper app for Windows admins

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows Update Viewer is an open source application for Windows that serves a number of purposes all around updates in Windows.

The application is free to use and available as a portable version and as an installer. It displays all installed updates on the Windows system when you run it.

Note that it is a .NET application, which means that you need .NET 8 installed on the system to run it.

More on the Topic:

How to disable driver updates via Windows Update

Each update is listed with its ID, date and time of installation, result and title. You may sort the listing by clicking on a header.

When you select an update, you get a wealth of information:

  • ID, date and time of installation, title, and result as before.
  • The update description.
  • Operation.
  • Status.
  • Result code.
  • Support URL.
  • Update ID.
  • Windows Event Log details.

The one that stands out is the information that it pulls from the event log. The updates history that Windows itself provides does not provide the information in a single place. You have to open the Event Viewer to look them up.

Here, you get all the information in one place. Find out why an update refused to install on the Windows device by looking at the provided logs.

The link to the support URL is also handy, as you can follow it to check out what the update is all about or if it has any known issues.

Other than that, Windows Update Viewer includes a filter list to hide certain entries. Defender updates are not shown by default. You can change that, or add any other term to the filter list to block it from appearing in the table.

Closing Words

Windows Update Viewer is one of those handy free apps that make the life of administrators easier. It is great for quickly looking up information about updates, especially those that failed to install.

Do you use software to manage updates on Windows machines? Feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion below.

Thunderbird Android

Thunderbird is now officially available for Android

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The open source email client Mozilla Thunderbird is now also available for Android. This marks a big milestone for the makers and enables users to use the client on desktop systems and on mobile systems powered by Android.

With iOS support in the works, Thunderbird will be a true cross-platform email client that you can run on all major operating systems.

One of the main questions that existing Thunderbird users may have is this: how do I get my settings imported to Android?

Thankfully, Thunderbird’s team has published an easy to follow step-by-step guide that explains the entire process.

Note: the functionality requires manual steps. It also requires the latest version of Thunderbird 128 or Thunderbird Beta 132 or newer on the desktop. Only these versions come with the “export for mobile” option that is required.

Import email data from Thunderbird desktop to Android

All the latest version of Thunderbird for the desktop include an option to export data specifically for mobile use.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Open the Thunderbird email client on the desktop system.
  2. Select Menu > Tools > Export for Mobile.
  3. Modify the accounts you want to export (Optional).
  4. Decide whether you want to include account passwords (Optional)
  5. Activate the Export button.

Thunderbird displays a QR code when you hit export. Keep the screen open and switch to your Android device.

  1. Open Thunderbird on the Android device.
  2. Activate the get started button on the first screen.
  3. Select import settings.
  4. Scan the QR code that Thunderbird on the desktop shows.
  5. Select next, if you have selected multiple accounts for export.
  6. Repeat the steps 4 and 5 until all accounts have been added.

If everything went well, Thunderbird for Android should have imported the account settings from the desktop client. Thunderbird for Android should start looking for new emails immediately.

You can check out the full blog post to find out what is new and supported in Thunderbird for Android.

Looking for Windows Wallpapers? Microsoft has a download site for them

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Wallpapers are a great way to customize your Windows PCs or any other device. Most devices come with a default set of wallpapers, but these are usually fairly limited.

On Windows, you get a few choices and may also download wallpapers from the Internet or the Microsoft Store.

A third option is provided by Microsoft’s official Design website. The Wallpapers section there hosts plenty of official Windows wallpapers and them some.

Want some examples? Microsoft Create, 10th Anniversary Windows Insider Program, Windows 11 Themes, Windows Dev Home, and a lot more.

The downloads contain just the wallpapers. Not all of them are for Windows apparently. When I downloaded the Design Week wallpaper package, I got smartphone wallpapers.

The tenth year anniversary of the Windows Insider program contained Windows wallpapers for regular and wide screen monitors.

There is no option to find out what each package contains. Microsoft does not provide any information on that. This is problematic, as you may be downloading packages that you cannot really use.

Many other wallpaper sites do that better, as they provide information about resolutions as well as filters to limit results to matching wallpapers.

Still, the site is free and interesting especially for users who saw a wallpaper in one of Microsoft’s presentations or teasers.

All in all, nice that Microsoft is offering these as free downloads for all users. You do not need a specific version of Windows to download these. If you run Linux, a Mac, or another device, you can download these as well.

What is your take on wallpapers? Download new ones regularly? Maybe even run software that downloads and sets wallpapers automatically? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

PeaZip 10.0: new version of open source archive tool released

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When the makers of the archive tool Bandizip started to make changes that were disliked by part of the userbase, it was PeaZip among several other apps that users switched to.

The open source archiving software is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. The developers have released version 10.0 recently; reason enough to take another look at it and highlight what is new and changed.

Also worth a consideration:

WinRAR 7.0 Final released: drops RAR 4 archive creation

PeaZip 10.0

The big new change in the new version is one that you may not notice right away. PeaZip launches with a redesigned graphical user interface. That is often cause for concern, but not with this release.

The developers highlight more icon sizes, updated themes, and “better organized menus” as the key elements.

Take a look at the two screenshots below. The first shows the PeaZip 9.x interface, the second the new interface in PeaZip 10.0.

PeaZip 9.x interface
PeaZip’s 9.x graphical user interface.
PeaZip 10
PeaZip 10.0 interface

As you can see, some of the icons have received a color upgrade, which may help differentiate between them better.

You can check out the theming options under Options > Settings > Themes.

There you find plenty of preferences to customize the look and feel. To name a few of those: set the main color, accents, contrast, spacing, colors of toolbars and more.

As far as other changes are concerned, here is what the developers reveal:

  • New options in the File Tools menu: save checksum / hash in GNU Coreutils compatible format., and search hash online for malware.
  • Updated the backends 7z and Pea to the latest version.
  • Supports a total of 234 file extensions as archives.

You can check out the full changelog here.

PeaZip, 7-Zip, or something different? Which archive software do you use mainly, and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Mullvad

Mullvad VPN adds protections against AI traffic analysis

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

One of the best things you can do to protect your data and privacy while online is to use a good VPN. Not all VPNs offer equally good protections; some even collect and sell user data.

Mullvad VPN is already offering some of the strongest privacy protections in the industry. This begins with options to buy access anonymously, but does not end there. You may also run Mullvad Browser, a hardened fork of the Firefox web browser.

Also great:

DNS Forge Review: privacy-friendly censorship-free DNS with ad-blocking

Mullvad announced a new protective feature against AI-based traffic analysis in May of this year. Defense against AI-guided Traffic Analysis (DAITA) is designed to protect user data against the growing thread of the use of AI to analyze traffic to identify patterns and users, even when VPNs are used.

This form of traffic analysis works in the following way according to Mullvad:

  • Whenever you visit a website or use a service on the Internet, network packets are transferred.
  • While ISPs and network listeners do not know the content of these packages, they do know a) the size of the packets, b) when and how often they are sent.
  • AI may identify websites, services, and even people you message based on network packages.

DAITA

DAITA is designed to protect against any form of network packet analysis to determine visited websites, services, or communication.

This is achieved in the following way (again according to Mullvad):

  • DAITA changes the size of all packets send over the VPN to be the same size.
  • Random background traffic is added to the communication.
  • Data pattern distortion by sending cover traffic between the client and the VPN server.

DAITA is available in Mullvad VPN for Android already. You need to enable ti manually under Settings > VPN Settings > DAITA.

Note that DAITA works with select servers, Mullvad lists Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles, and New York, at the time.

Do you use a VPN service? If so, which and why this one? What is your take on Mullvad’s new privacy feature? Feel free to leave a comment down below.