Can I download from the Windows Store without a Microsoft account? A

QI bought myself a new laptop with Windows 10 pre-installed. With help from some of the many Windows 10 features you’ve published, I managed to set it up with a local account, because I have no desire to have Microsoft watching everything I do. However, I’ve hit a stumbling block when it comes to downloading apps from the Windows Store.

Basically, I can’t work out how to do it. When I click to download an app, nothing happens. I’m guessing it’s because I have a local account. Is there any way to download apps from the Windows Store without giving up my local account? Or do I have to bite the bullet and set up a Microsoft account?

AFrederick Luckman

Sisters of Spam is a tonguein-cheek anti-scam website. It’s supposedly run by a group of anonymous volunteers, but it looks as if it was thrown together by a bored bloke in his garden shed. Either way, it’s not malicious.

You sent us the correspondence you had with your antivirus supplier. It seems the company gave the site a cursory look but not much more. You might consider that poor service, but it doesn’t mean its security software failed, because the site isn’t a scam.

The real mystery is how Sisters of Spam became your browser’s home page. The site did receive some press coverage a few years ago, so perhaps you bookmarked it and forgot about it? Whatever the reason, this is the root of the problem. In Internet Explorer, click the cog icon at the top-right and choose ‘Internet options’. Select the General tab and, in the ‘Home page’ section, click ‘Use new tab’ (see screenshot). Click OK.