Tag Archives: Windows

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Windows 10 Will Get Android Phone Call Integration Features

Microsoft may have given up on the idea of putting their Windows operating system on smartphones, but that doesn’t mean they’ve given up on smartphones altogether.

Recently, the company announced a significant feature addition that will allow users to take calls made to an Android phone from their Windows-based PC.

 

The new feature is currently only available to Windows Insiders for testing, but will be generally available to all users in an upcoming build in the unspecified, but not too distant future.  It makes use of your PCs speakers, microphone and computer screen. Using the new feature, you’ll be able to answer an incoming call from your PC, decline calls from the PC with a custom text, transfer calls between your PC and Android phone, and access your recent call history.

In order to make use of the feature, three conditions must be true:  You must be using Windows 10 Build 19H1, version 1903 or higher, and the Android phone must be running version 7.0 Nougat or higher.  In addition to that, the PC needs to have Bluetooth radio installed. Once those conditions are met, you’re all set and can turn your trusty PC into a substitute for your Android phone.

Initially, when news of the feature first leaked, it was to be available only to certain Samsung Galaxy devices. However, in the weeks since the leak, Microsoft has broadened their horizons, although a few of the features are still exclusive to Samsung’s phones.  How long that remains true is yet to be determined.

In any case, it’s a good move and a genuinely valuable addition to Windows 10’s capabilities, allowing Windows/Android users to communicate in new ways and more efficiently, to boot.  Kudos to Microsoft and Google for bridging the divide, and if you’re not a Windows Insider, stay tuned.  You’ll be able to experiment with the new functionality before you know it.

 

0
Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Tamper Protection Enabled By Default In Windows 10 Update

Do you have the new Windows 10?

If you’re not sure, the most recent version (as of the time this article was written) is version 1903, which was the May 2019 update.

Assuming you’ve got that version or later, you should have Microsoft’s Tamper Protection enabled by default.

If you’re not sure what the big deal is, in a nutshell, Windows Tamper Protection blocks scripts, apps and programs from making changes to your security settings and to Microsoft Defender.  That’s a very good thing, but if you’re looking for a bit more detail, keep reading.

Microsoft has all of this to say about the feature:

“Tamper protection prevents unwanted changes to security settings on devices.  With this protection in place, customers can mitigate malware threats that attempt to disable security protection features.  Here are some examples of services and settings that are protected from modification, either by local admins or by malicious applications:

  • Real-time protection, which is the core antimalware scanning feature of Microsoft Defender ATP next generation protection and should rarely, if ever be disabled.
  • Cloud-delivered protection, which uses our cloud-based detection and prevention services to block never-before-seen malware within seconds.
  • IOAV (IE Downloads and Outlook Express Attachments initiated), which handles the detection of suspicious files from the internet.
  • Behavior monitoring, which works with real-time protection to analyze and determine whether active processes are behaving in a suspicious or malicious way, and then blocks them.
  • Security intelligence updates, which Windows Defender Antivirus uses to detect the latest threats.”

All that to say, it’s a solid feature and a fairly robust means of protecting your computer.  Kudos to Microsoft for making it a priority.  If you’re a home user, you can check the status of your system’s Tamper Protection in the Windows Security app.  Just check to see if Tamper Protection is enabled and you’re all set.

 

0
Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

New Chrome Feature Allows Sending Web Pages To Devices

If you use Google’s Chrome browser for web connectivity, you’re about to get a new feature you’ll probably fall in love with.

Chrome 77 is now available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.  For years, Google’s primary mission where the web is concerned has been to increase the quality of the user experience and the company keeps finding new ways to do just that.

Their latest offering, available in Chrome 77, will allow you to send web content to any other device you own that you use Chrome on.

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you’re on your phone and you run across an article that deserves more time and attention, so it is probably something you’d like to revisit on your PC.  Easily done.  Just “send the web page” in question to any device on your device list drop down, and you’re all set.  You’ll be able to pick up reading the article in question where you left off on the device you select.

If you’re using Chrome on iOS, you will need to have the app open for the new functionality to work, and you’ll need to accept the sent tab because the functionality isn’t quite as tightly meshed on iOS as it is on the other platforms.

It’s a small change, but a significant one that enhances the overall user experience.  The days of browsing the web on a single device are long gone. Chrome plays a major role in the Windows, Android, and Apple product ecosystems. It also has the ability to fly seamlessly from one type of device to another (even devices on entirely different ecosystems) and browse your preferred content seamlessly is compelling.  Kudos to Google for the recent enhancement.  We can hardly wait to see what else the future holds.

 

0
Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Is Extending Windows 7 Support For Only Some Users

There’s some good news for Enterprise users who are still using Windows 7.  By now, almost everyone is aware that the company is bringing support for the aging operating system to a close.

The original time frame for formally ending support and for ending the issuance of security updates was set for as soon as January 2020.

Enterprise users, however, were given the option of paying for additional support for a limited window of time to give them a little longer to migrate away from Windows 7 and onto a more modern OS.  Unfortunately, that window is now rapidly closing too. Recently, Microsoft announced a limited-time promotion for EA (Enterprise Agreement) and EAS (Enterprise Subscription Agreement) customers which will give them an extra year of Windows 7 security updates for free.

There is a catch, of course.  You have to have an active subscription to either Windows 10 E5, Microsoft 365 E5, or Microsoft 365 Security.  If you do, you can take advantage of the offer and milk a little more time and life out of your Windows 7 systems.

That’s big news for any company of any size that’s struggling to migrate away from an old Legacy system that depends on Windows 7 to function properly. That is because the costs of continuing to receive Windows 7 security updates beyond the January 2020 deadline are per device and increase every year.

In 2020, you’ll pay $25 per device, which will double to $50 per device in year two and $100 per device in year three.  If you’re using Windows 7 Pro, your costs are even higher:  $50 on year one, $100 on year two, and a staggering $200 per device on year three.

The bottom line is, if you need the extra time to move away from Windows 7, it pays to take advantage of Microsoft’s recent offer.

 

0
Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Windows 10 May Make WordPad And Paint Downloadable Soon

There’s another chapter in the ongoing MS Paint saga.

In case you missed the first part of the story, several months ago, Microsoft upset its user base when a Windows 10 Build took Paint out of the equation. They replaced it with an updated version of the software that supported 3D effects and other advanced features.

They made the original Paint, which has been part of the Windows ecosystem since the earliest versions, available as an optional download.

The program was never that good or the best in class, so the company was astounded by the blowback that followed.  The company’s massive user base revolted, and Microsoft quickly backed away from their original plan to retire it, stating that they’d revisit the issue at a later date.

Now seems to be that ‘later date’ the company was referring to.  Windows Insiders spotted a change that foretells an ominous future for the venerable piece of code.  In all prior versions of Windows, it was impossible to uninstall either WordPad or Paint, but in the latest build, both are listed as optional features. As such, they can be uninstalled if the user wishes.

This is the same basic arc the company used to slowly get rid of Windows Media Player. Fans of paint (and it has legions of fans, apparently) fear that the old art program is destined to meet a similar fate. This goes along with WordPad, which has a significantly smaller fan following and isn’t causing as much of an uproar.

Microsoft continues to try to assure users that the original paint will be made freely available in the Microsoft Store for anyone who wants it, but fans of the old program are not satisfied.  Admittedly, although a small thing, the eventual loss of Paint will feel like the end of an era.

 

 

0
1 … 21 22 23 24 25 … 27