5 Windows 10 features that are better than what you had on Windows 7

Finally made the improve from Windows 7 to Windows 10? Hopefully the reply is sure, since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7 ((*5*)$26 at Amazon) over a yr in the past, which suggests gadgets working that OS not get necessary updates or safety patches. But by no means worry: Learning tips on how to navigate Windows 10 ($150 at Amazon) is not too troublesome, particularly if you can pinpoint all the huge variations between the brand new OS and the older model. 

From tighter safety to a brand new browser, Windows 10 has so much to supply. Here are a few of the largest function updates in Windows 10, in comparison with Windows 7. 

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Read extra: You can nonetheless obtain Windows 10 without spending a dime — and you ought to as a result of Windows 7 is useless

Security enhancements

Windows 10’s superior safety and steady patches and updates are the highest cause to modify to the newest model of the OS. Some of the very best safety features embrace: 

• Windows Hello: Software that makes use of facial recognition to unlock your machine utilizing its webcam, in addition to to unlock extra than a dozen apps.
• Microsoft Defender: The antivirus program and web safety software program comes free with Windows 10.
• Automatic updates: Unlike earlier variations of the OS, Windows 10 affords computerized updates by default, to maintain methods safer. (You can flip these off if you need to, by going to Windows Update Settings > Advanced Options and altering from Automatic to a different possibility within the drop-down menu.) 

If you’re nonetheless holding on to Windows 7, a minimum of contemplate these safety tricks to shield your Windows 7 laptop computer. You may try this full comparability of Windows 10 and Windows 7 safety features from Microsoft. 

Read extra: The finest antivirus safety of 2021 for Windows 10

Start menu

Hit the acquainted Windows icon on the backside left of the display or on your keyboard to discover a listing of your desktop apps and applications. Similar to the Start menu in Windows 8, the Windows 10 Start menu contains stay tiles — giant icons to the appropriate of the Start menu together with Mail, Calendar and Weather. You can customise these tiles with any app you like: Just open the Start menu, click on All apps and discover the app you need to make right into a tile. Right-click it, and click on Pin to Start. To take away a tile, right-click it and click on Unpin from Start. 

With Windows 10, you may entry a lesser-known second Start menu that helps you entry necessary features just like the Command Prompt, the Control Panel and the Task Manager a lot simpler, both by urgent the Windows key + X or by right-clicking the Windows icon/Start button. 

Read extra at TechRepublic: Windows 10: A cheat sheet

Cortana

Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana is on the market on Windows 10 PCs. Cortana acts as a private assistant — just like Apple’s Siri — and operates through voice command to assist with duties like scheduling and studying or summarizing your e-mail. 

Go to Start > Settings > Cortana to show Cortana on and off, and management when and the way you use the assistant. For instance, toggle sure if you need Cortana to assist when you say, “Hey Cortana,” and sure if you need speech and typing personalization turned on, which helps the assistant get to know your patterns. 

Read extra: Have a brand new PC or laptop computer? Here’s tips on how to set it up one of the simplest ways

Edge browser

Say goodbye to Internet Explorer: With Windows 10, Microsoft launched the Edge browser to exchange the outdated mainstay. In January, Microsoft rolled out a new model of Edge, constructed on the identical engine that drives Google’s Chrome browser — making it extra appropriate with fashionable web sites, for a better searching expertise. You can obtain the brand new Edge browser on Windows 10 (and, technically, because it’s constructed on Chromium, on Windows 7 or 8 too) by going to the Microsoft Edge webpage, deciding on Windows, and clicking Download. 

Continuous updates 

Unlike Windows 7, Microsoft frequently updates Windows 10 to patch safety points and make the machines run better. This is a part of Microsoft’s transfer to make Windows function extra as a service, with steady updates as a substitute of a brand-new model. 

To examine for updates, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security, and underneath Windows Update, click on Check for updates. 

Major function updates come twice a yr, with the latest being the October 2020 Update. This replace added some new features like a brand new, streamlined Start menu and the power to personalize your Taskbar. It additionally contains the brand new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser as a substitute of the legacy model for the primary time.

The upcoming Windows 10 Spring 2021 replace will add just a few extra helpful new features, and likewise set the stage for a bigger Windows 10 UI replace sooner or later. 

More Windows 10 suggestions

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