Five things every Windows 10 user should know

The release of Windows 10 was riddled with bugs on Microsoft’s part. Many of them have been maintained or have been repeated, but in the end the Redmond giant has managed to polish its latest operating system to make it a stable, fast and secure platform.

I’m not talking to speak, on my main computer I use a Windows 10 Pro license that I got updating from Windows 7 Pro. I did a clean install for the update process more than two and a half years ago and since then I have not had the slightest problem. Neither a format nor a restoration, nothing, and that I use the equipment for an average of 10 hours a day. As security tools I have Windows Defender and Malwarebytes in their premium version.

In general, the Windows 10 interface is quite balanced, since it brings together the best of the most classic Windows with some of the successes of Windows 8.1. This is noticeable in many aspects, including the start button, although we also find interesting news such as the integration of Cortana or the notification center.

I know that many of our readers have opted for Windows 10 and that there are others who are considering the jump to that operating system or who have made it recently, so we have decided to make this special article in which we will share with you five things that all Windows 10 user should know.

1-Customize the start menu

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Windows 10 allows you to carry out a fairly complete customization of the start menu. You will not only be able to customize the view of the icons, but also to pin and unpin applications, adjust the size and even delete them directly.

This will affect the applications that will be available when you click on the start menu, but also the visualization that you will have when you open it. This is more important than it sounds, as some applications benefit from having a larger live tile and displaying more information.

In general, you can greatly modify the start menu and leave only the applications and tools that you really use, something that will be very useful and that you can do in a few clicks. If you want to add items to the start menu, you can do it from the path «Personalization> Start».

2-You can improve performance effortlessly

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Since the arrival of Windows 10, Microsoft confirmed that its new operating system was not going to be especially demanding in terms of hardware, a reality that it has maintained until now despite all the updates it has accumulated, since it is possible to enjoy an acceptable experience even with a dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM.

However, if you want to improve the performance of Windows 10 without having to update the hardware of your quiet PC, it is very easy if you follow the steps that we will give you below:

Configure the power plan in high performance : to activate it you just have to type  “Edit Power Plan”  in the Cortana search bar and select  “Change advanced power settings”. If you use a laptop keep in mind that this will increase energy consumption and reduce autonomy.

Disable startup programs : This will help us to reduce the programs that will load when Windows 10 starts and will improve system startup times. We just have to right click on the task bar; select  “Task Manager”  and we go to the “Start” tab . Once there, we go to  “Status”  and disable the programs that we do not want to start with the system.

Disable animations and visual effects : It is a process that we explain in depth  in this other practical. To apply this setting we press  “Windows + R”  and write  “sysdm.cpl”. Once this is done, we follow the path  “Advanced Options> Configuration> Performance> Adjust to Get the Best Performance”.

3-It has advanced security solutions

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Windows Defender has improved remarkably and has reached such a good level that it has become a security solution that we can consider as “sufficient” to renounce the use of an additional antivirus, provided that we make proper use of the computer and put “common sense”.

Personally, I recommend accompanying it with an inexpensive antivirus that stops attacks in real time, is light and has good support. Malwarebytes is my favorite today, but if you decide to rely solely on Windows Defender remember that in addition to the usual firewall and malware cleaning options, it integrates a function called “controlled folder access” that you should configure from the first moment.

This feature reduces the chances that we will be affected by a ransomware attack, since it limits access to certain folders and all their content, preventing modifications from being made and alerting in the event that malicious activities are identified. To activate it, we just have to open Windows Defender, enter the option “Protection against viruses and other threats” and select the last option called “Protection against ransomware”. There we will find controlled access to folders and recovery through OneDrive.

4-Comes with a dark theme

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With the numerous updates to Windows 10 that Microsoft has released, a dark theme has been introduced that we can activate and deactivate at will. Although it does not yet apply to all elements of the operating system, it adds a unique customization touch, and adds visual comfort when navigating through certain sections and using certain Windows 10 applications.

Little by little Microsoft is extending the possibility of using the dark theme in a greater number of applications, something that we already mentioned a few hours ago in MuyPymes when talking about the Microsoft To-Do update.

To activate the dark theme we just have to follow these steps:

We go to the Cortada search bar and enter “Configuration”.

Once there we enter “Personalization> Colors”.

Once this is done we just have to look for the option “Choose the default application mode” and select “Dark”.

5-Windows 10 is not a product, it is a service

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With Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and earlier versions, Microsoft had followed a product model. With Windows 10 a clear transition has been made towards the service model, something that can be seen in the model of biannual updates and in the weight that these have not only in terms of the introduction of new functions, but also in the operating system life cycle.

Each semi-annual update adds new features that can be very varied, ranging from new features in general to those focused on security and performance, but also extends the life cycle of the operating system by a year and a half (standard support). This affects the reception of traditional Microsoft security patches, which arrive independently but depend on whether the operating system is still supported or not.

For example the original version of Windows 10 is no longer supported and does not receive security updates. To regain support, it would be enough to install one of the latest semi-annual updates released by Microsoft. If you want to know what version you have, it is very easy, just enter “Winver” (without quotes) in Cortana’s search bar (1803 is the most current version).