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How to Download Windows 10 Spotlight/Lock Screen Images

SoAs.in July 17, 2017 Tips , Windows

If you’re using Windows 10, you’ve probably noticed that the lock screen usually displays a really nice background image that is automatically chosen from Bing and automatically sized for your desktop screen. If you have a high-resolution monitor, the feature works especially well.

On a 4K or WQHD (2560×1440) monitor, the high-resolution images look absolutely great. The feature is called Windows Spotlight and it’s an option in the Windows 10 Lock Screen settings dialog.

The only problem is that there is no easy or quick way to download the images to your computer. Nor is there any way to use the Windows Spotlight feature for your desktop wallpaper. You can choose from Slideshow, but it requires you to point to a folder with pictures.

In this article, I’ll show you how to get those pictures from Windows Spotlight onto your computer, which you can then feed to the slideshow option for your desktop wallpaper.

If you’re not sure what Windows Spotlight is or if it’s not enabled on your computer, you can click on start and type in lock screen to bring up this dialog.

As you can see, the lock screen images are really nice and change about every two days. Luckily, all of the images that have been shown on your computer are actually already stored on your system, albeit not in a very user-friendly way.

Find Windows Spotlight Images

The first step is to find all the stored images on your Windows 10 system. To do this, you’ll need to open Windows Explorer and click on the View tab.

Go ahead and check both the File name extensions and Hidden items boxes. Once you have done this, navigate to the following directory below, using your own user account in place of username.

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets

You should see a bunch of files in this folder if you have been using Windows Spotlight for some time. Go ahead and click on the Size column to order the items by file size.

The reason I mention sorting by size is because some of the files in the folder are less than 50 KB and are not the wallpaper images. You can just ignore those files. Now what you want to do is create a new folder somewhere else on your drive that you will use for the wallpaper images.

Select all the files that are larger than 100KB or so and copy them to the new folder. To copy, select the files and then hold right-click and drag the images to the second Explorer window.

You’ll notice that it’ll say “Move to Wallpapers”, which you can ignore since you’re holding down the right-click button your mouse. When you let go, you’ll get another dialog, however, saying the files can harm your computer.

You obviously can ignore this since these are files that are already on your computer. The reason why the message appears is because they are being moved from a system protected hidden folder. Click OK and then you’ll be able to choose Copy here.

To make the images viewable again, you have to right-click on them to rename them. Since you have no idea what the photo will be, just give it a number for the name. You’ll also have to add the file extension. The images are all going to be either .PNG or .JPG, so try them in that order.

Once you rename the file, go ahead and double-click on it to see if it opens in your default photo viewer program. If it does, you’re good to go. If not, try the other file extension. You should start seeing previews of the images in Explorer also as you rename them. Some remain with the default image placeholder icon, but the images load just fine.

That’s about all there is to it. It’s not the simplest procedure by any means, but it’s not risky and it’s fairly straight-forward. I suggest turning on Spotlight for a couple of weeks and then grabbing all the images. The only downside here is that the folder contents change often and it doesn’t keep a record of every single image ever shown. It will delete some and replace them with newer images, so you might have to repeat this procedure every couple of months.

Other Ways to Get Spotlight Images

If you feel that’s way too much work for those images, you do have a couple of other choices. First, you can spend a dollar and get the SpotBright app, which allows you to download the Spotlight images in just two clicks.

The second way is even easier. Someone has been nice enough to find each image used in Spotlight and post it to Imgur. There are at least 200+ images in this album and they are all full HD resolution images. Using the site, you have the advantage of downloading a lot more of the Spotlight images than you’ll find in the hidden folder.

A third way is to use a clever PowerShell command. Even if you are non-technical, it’s very easy to run and it’ll save you a lot of manual work. Just create a folder on your desktop called Pics and then open PowerShell by clicking on Start and typing in powershell.

Now just copy and paste the following command into the PowerShell window and press Enter:

Get-ChildItem -Path $env:localappdata\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets | Copy-Item -dest {"$home\desktop\pics\" + $_.BaseName + ($i++) +".jpg" }

Open the Pics folder on your desktop and voila! All the images from the LocalState/Assets folder should be there. You’ll need to delete out the useless files, but otherwise it saves you a lot of time. Enjoy!

Should You Ever Disable a Windows Service?

If you have ever searched for ways to make your Windows computer faster, you’ve probably run across several websites that suggest turning off or disabling certain Windows services. Other websites say it’s dangerous and you should never mess with Windows services. So, who is correct?

Well, the argument can basically be broken down into whether or not you know what you are doing. In my opinion, if you don’t know what a Windows service even is, then you really should not disable any service. If you have some basic understanding of services and programs, then it’s OK to disable only non-Microsoft services.

As a general rule, I never disable any service that comes installed with Windows by default or that is from Microsoft. If you think a service is unnecessary and might be slowing down your computer, you should Google it and then try to uninstall the program or Windows feature that is creating the service in the first place.

However, when you disable non-Microsoft services, your chances of messing something up on your computer are greatly reduced. Most of these third-party services don’t necessarily need to be enabled. They are usually there to check for updates in the background or something similar.

Windows Services Location

First off, there are two ways to view all the services on your Windows PC. You can go to Start and type in services to open the desktop app or you can type in MSCONFIG to open the system configuration utility.

Go ahead and click on the Services tab and you’ll see a list of all services with checkmarks next to each one. If you uncheck the service, it will be disabled the next time you restart the computer.

The other method is to click on Start and type in services, which also will list out all of the services, but each service has to be disabled manually and you can’t hide all of the Microsoft services quickly like you can in MSCONFIG. The one benefit, though, is that it gives you a detailed description for each service.

Examine Non-Microsoft Services

In MSCONFIG, go ahead and check Hide all Microsoft services. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t even mess with disabling any Microsoft service because it’s not worth the problems you’ll end up with later. Many sites will tell you that it’s OK to disable service X or service Y because it’s only used when your computer is part of a domain or it’s only needed when a certain feature is enabled in Windows, etc., but you can never really be certain when a service will suddenly need to be started and used.

Once you hide the Microsoft services, you really should only be left with about 10 to 20 services at max. If you have more than that, you probably have way too many programs installed on your computer. If you do have a lot and you need all those programs, then disabling a few of the services will probably make your computer run faster.

So how do you know which service to disable and which to leave alone? The only third-party services I have come across that you shouldn’t touch are any that have the words wireless, intel or display in them. The wireless ones control your Wi-Fi card and if you disable that service, your wireless connection will disappear.

Intel has quite a few services and I usually just leave those alone because they never use a lot of memory or eat up the CPU. Lastly, any graphics card services should remain enabled. This includes anything with NVIDIA or AMD or the word graphics in the service name. Outside of that, everything else is fair game.

Let’s take a look at some services on my computer. As you can see, I basically disabled all of the services that are related to updates. So does this mean Adobe and Google programs will never update? No, it just means I have to do it manually, which I find myself doing all the time anyway, so it’s not a big deal for me. I also disabled Steam and TechSmith because I don’t use those programs very often and the services turn on automatically once I start the programs.

It’s worth mentioning once that unchecking a service here doesn’t mean it will never run again on the computer. It just means it won’t automatically start when the computer first boots up. When you manually run the program, the services associated with that program will automatically start also.

I kept the Intel Rapid Storage, Malwarebytes, NVIDIA and Realtek audio services enabled for obvious reasons. I want my anti-malware program to be running and I want my graphics and audio to be functioning properly. If you’re not sure by the service name what it does or which program it is associated with, go to the other services app I mentioned and try to read the description. Anything that you’re not sure about, you should leave enabled.

Also, if you do disable something that you find is needed, simply go back into MSCONFIG and check the box to re-enable it. If you’re just messing around with non-Microsoft services, there isn’t a whole lot you can mess up. I also recommend disabling one service at a time, restarting, working on your computer for a while, and then trying another service.

Finally, you may find certain programs starting up that won’t show up in the list of services. In those cases, you have to disable the startup programs, which is in another section. If your computer is slow, check out my previous post on how to speed up Windows. Enjoy!

7 OS X Tips for Windows Users

SoAs.in July 17, 2017 Tech , Tips , Windows

If you recently purchased a Mac or if you have been required to use a Mac for work, you might be frustrated trying to use OS X if you have been a long-time Windows user. This is completely understandable and Apple really doesn’t care to change their OS to match that of Windows anytime soon.

Apple loves OS X the way it is and it will probably remain the way it is for the remainder of its life. This means you’ll need to get used to some of the differences between Windows and Mac. In my view, OS X could still be made to be easier to use by default, but unfortunately, you have to manually make some changes to make things better.

In this article, I’m going to give you a couple of my favorite tips for Windows users who have to use a Mac and OS X. Once you get used to OS X, you may even like it more than Windows, which is what happened to me. There is a small learning curve, but it’s worth the effort. Also, be sure to check out my post on programs and features in OS X that are equivalent to Windows.

Tip #1 – How to Right Click

One of the most annoying things as a beginner Mac user is trying to figure out how to right click! There is no separate right-click button for Macs and this can be really annoying for some people. Luckily, the Apple method is actually kind of more intuitive and easier to use.

All you have to do to right-click is to use two fingers when you perform a normal click. When you click with two fingers, you get the right-click context menu. For me, this is way more convenient than having to move my finger all the way down to the correct button like on most Windows laptops.

You can change the settings for how right-click works by going to System Preferences – Trackpad and clicking on the Point & Click tab.

By default, the right-click option is called Secondary click in OS X. If checked, it is normally set to Click or tap with two fingers, but you can click on the small little arrow and choose from two other options also: Click in bottom right corner or Click in bottom left corner. If you just love the way you did it in Windows, you can tweak OS X to get the same behavior.

Also, another quick tip is to check the Tap to click option also. Most Windows laptops allow you to tap to click, but OS X does not have this enabled by default so you have to manually press down the button to click. If you go to Scroll & Zoom, you can also change the scroll direction to whichever is more natural for you.

Tip #2 – Add Applications to the Dock

The other major change that is most jarring for Windows users is the lack of a Start button. There simply isn’t any central button in OS X. You have the small Apple logo icon at the top left, which can do a few things like get you to System Preferences or let you restart/shutdown your computer.

The Dock is basically like the Windows taskbar, but only with shortcuts and nothing else. The other annoying thing is that it starts out completely full of default Apple apps. I almost never use more than one or two, so the first thing I do is get rid of them. You can do this by right-clicking on the icon in the dock, choosing Options and choosing Remove from Dock.

Once you have done that, you can add a kind of All Programs folder to your Dock that will let you see a list of all programs installed in OS X. To do this, you have to drag the Applications folder to your dock. In order to do that, you need to click on the icon of your hard drive that should be on the Desktop. If you don’t see it, click on Finder at the top left of your Mac and then click on Preferences. On the General tab, make sure to check the boxes for Hard disks, External disks and CDs, DVDs and iPods.

Click on the hard disk icon on your desktop and you should see the Applications folder listed along with other folders like Library, System, Users.

Go ahead and drag that folder down to your Dock. Now when click on the icon, you’ll get a full listing of all the programs installed on your Mac. It’s better than trying to add them all to your Dock or having to use Spotlight to find the program you want to run.

You can also use Launcher (the silver/grey rocket icon in the Dock), but I never find myself using that for some reason.

Tip #3 – Eject Drives using the Trash

This one has to be the best. For the longest time, Apple has confused people when it comes to ejecting devices from the system. In order to eject a flash drive or DVD, you either have to right-click and choose Eject or you have to drag the item into the Trash.

This would be like dragging your USB drive into the Recycle Bin in Windows, which basically means delete everything! So obviously, people don’t even like the idea of throwing anything that has important data on it into a trash can!

However, that’s how you have to do it in OS X and no, it won’t result in any lost data. You’ll notice, actually, that when you click and drag an external drive or disc in OS X, the icon for the trash can changes to an eject icon. I guess this is supposed to make us feel better somehow.

Tip #4 – Tweak Finder

Finder is basically like Windows Explorer. A much simpler version of Explorer in my view. However, I prefer the more detailed and cluttered view of Explorer than the streamlined Finder. It’s just too simple.

So to add more stuff into Finder, open a Finder window and then click on View and click on the Show Path Bar and Show Status Bar options. This will give Finder a more Explorer-like look.

While under View, click on Customize Toolbar to add a couple of useful icons to the default toolbar. Personally, I like to add the New Folder, Delete and Get Info buttons to my toolbar.

Lastly, click on Finder, then Preferences and then click on Sidebar. Here you can add other items to the Finder sidebar like Pictures, Music, etc. This is similar to the library folders in Windows.

On the General tab, you can also edit the New Finder window shows option and pick something other than All Files. I prefer to pick my home folder, which matches more to Windows explorer.

Tip #5 – Learn to Use Spotlight

If you’re used to the search box in the Start menu on Windows, you’ll be happy to know there is an equivalent search option in OS X called Spotlight. You can get to it in two ways: either by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top right of your screen or by pressing theCommand + Spacebar keyboard shortcut.

Using Spotlight is the best way to find your files, change settings in OS X, find apps to install, find emails, find calendar events, etc. It also shows results from the web, so you could search for Apple and get suggested websites and even a map to the local Apple store.

Tip #6 – OS X Uses Spaces & Full Screen

Another thing you have to get used to is understanding how those three buttons at the top left of every window work. In Windows, you have three buttons: a minimize button, an expand button and a close button. In OS X, you have a red close button, a yellow minimize button and a green button that expands, but differently depending on the program.

If you click on the green button for Safari, for example, it will expand to full-screen and everything else will disappear. If you move your mouse to the top of the screen, you’ll get see the toolbar, but that’s about it. So where did all your other windows go and how do you get to them?

Well, in OS X, the app has basically gone into its own space. If you scroll up with three fingers, you’ll see something called Mission Control. Basically, it shows you a thumbnail of each desktop or program that is using its own space.

They are basically virtual desktops in OS X. Most built-in apps will use up their own space when expanded using the green button. You can either click on a space to activate it or you can use the three finger swipe to the right or left to browse through the spaces. I do like this feature a lot because it lets you work in one app fully, but still allows you to get around to other apps quickly.

On some apps, however, the app will expand to full screen, but it will not go into its own space. It’ll basically remain on the original desktop, just taking up most of the screen. Most third-party apps like Microsoft Office now support the full-screen mode that go into their own space.

You can also click on the little plus icon to add a new desktop if you like. You can have specific programs open in specific desktops if you like and you can even change the background so that each desktop has a different one. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get used to it, you’ll be using it all the time. Just remember the three finger swipes.

Tip #7 – Install Programs from the Mac App Store

By default, Apple tries to protect you by only allowing you to install apps from the Mac App store and from identified developers. In one sense, it’s good because it keeps you a bit safer without having to do much on your part.

If you want to install a new program, the best place to go is the Mac App store. Whereas Windows software is usually downloaded from everywhere on the Internet, most programs you’ll ever need to install on your Mac will be available in the Mac App store. If you really need to install something from some other place, you can go to System Preferences – Security & Privacy and select Anywhere under Allow apps downloaded from.

So hopefully those are some good tips for beginner Mac users who pretty much used Windows for their entire lives. There are a lot of other differences, but if you can get through these major ones, you’ll enjoy using your Mac rather than wanting to beat it. Enjoy!

LinkedIn’s new desktop app arrives on Windows 10

SoAs.in July 17, 2017 Business , Microsoft , Tech , Windows

LinkedIn is today launching its official desktop application for Windows 10, allowing the Microsoft-owned professional social networking service to be more deeply integrated into the operating system through features like the Windows 10 Start Menu, a pinnable Live Tile, and Action Center notifications. These alerts will include things like new messages in your LinkedIn inbox, updates about who’s viewed your profile, trending news stories in your industry, and other highlights, the company says.

Users can configure which alerts they’d like to see from the Notifications tab inside the app, LinkedIn’s blog post notes.

At the time of the acquisition, LinkedIn had over 400 million users worldwide, which makes it the largest professional social networking site in existence. In April, the company announced it had grown to 500 million users across 200 countries around the world, which represented 10+ million active jobs, access to 9+ million companies, and more than 100,000 articles published every week. Simply put, that’s a lot of business-related information for Microsoft to tie into through this new, integrated desktop experience.

Microsoft closed on its $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in December, then noting its plans to bring LinkedIn identity to Microsoft’s productivity applications, like Office and Outlook; the ability to draft resumés and apply for jobs via Microsoft Word; LinkedIn integration with Active Directory; and LinkedIn notifications in the Windows Action Center, among several other things.

This latter item is being addressed with the launch of the new Windows 10 application, which sends out its updates in real-time – a move that could make LinkedIn feel like a more active network, with timely news and information, rather than a place that many people today only think to check when they’re looking to change jobs.

LinkedIn, whose user base is 40 percent desktop users, also rolled out an update to its desktop experience on the web in January.

The new Windows 10 app is today beginning to roll out to the Windows Store, and will be available in 22 languages at launch.

The launch of the Windows 10 application comes shortly after Microsoft announced its plans to deprecate its Windows mobile app, which will be shut down on August 30, 2017. The company’s statement at the time said that Microsoft’s efforts were instead focused on building out the new LinkedIn desktop app, which would arrive this summer – as it has today. Mobile users, meanwhile, could use the site from the mobile web if they chose, said Microsoft.

The list of supported languages includes English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (simplified), Arabic, Danish, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Chinese (traditional), Czech, Indonesian, Thai, Malay, and Romanian.

The app will be available to all LinkedIn markets by the end of the month.

Microsoft admits disabling anti-virus software for Windows 10 users

SoAs.in June 21, 2017 Microsoft , Software , Windows

Microsoft has admitted that it does temporarily disable anti-virus software on Windows PCs, following an competition complaint to the European Commission by a security company.

In early June, Kaspersky Lab filed the complaint against Microsoft.

The security company claims the software giant is abusing its market dominance by steering users to its own anti-virus software.

Microsoft says it implemented defences to keep Windows 10 users secure.

Detection rates

In an extensive blog post that does not directly address Kaspersky or its claims, Microsoft says it bundles the Windows Defender Antivirus with Windows 10 to ensure that every single device is protected from viruses and malware.

"We built Windows Defender Antivirus to make a promise to our customers that every Windows 10 device always has protection from viruses and malware... our test results are among the top of security industry leaders, including recent real-world testing where Windows Defender Antivirus scored over 99% detection rates," writes Rob Lefferts, a partner director of the Windows and Devices group in enterprise and security at Microsoft.

"We also know that Window customers value choice, and that is why we actively engage with and support a community of over 80 independent software vendors through the Microsoft Virus Initiative (MVI) program.

"This engineering programme enables us to share key technical details of Microsoft technologies with our AV [anti-virus] partners to collaborate on future directions and problem solve on existing security challenges to protect our shared customers from malicious software."

Temporarily disabled

To combat the 300,000 new malware samples being created and spread every day, Microsoft says that it works together with external anti-virus partners.

The technology giant estimates that about 95% of Windows 10 PCs were using anti-virus software that was already compatible with the latest Windows 10 Creators Update.

For the applications that were not compatible, Microsoft built a feature that lets users update their PCs and then reinstall a new version of the anti-virus software.

"To do this, we first temporarily disabled some parts of the AV software when the update began. We did this work in partnership with the AV partner to specify which versions of their software are compatible and where to direct customers after updating," Mr Lefferts writes.

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