Windows’ Essential New Tools
The first Feature Update of 2020 aims to make Windows faster, safer and easier to use. Jonathan Parkyn reveals the best new tools, and explains what you must do before and after installing it
Block PUPS
Windows Defender may not be as comprehensive as paid-for security suites, but Microsoft has been improving it in recent years. The May 2020 Update continues these improvements by adding an option that scans for and offers to block PUPS (potentially unwanted programs) – or PUAS (potentially unwanted apps) as Microsoft calls them.
The PUA blocker has been part of Defender for a while, but you previously had to use a Powershell hack to enable it. This wasn’t easy and involved tweaking the Windows registry. Microsoft has now built this feature into Defender, making it easier to switch on. It’s disabled by default, so open Settings (press Windows key+i), click ‘Update & Security’, Windows Security, then ‘App and browser control’.
In the window that opens, click ‘Turn on’ under ‘Reputation-based protection’ (see screenshot below), then click OK. Next, click ‘Reputation-based protection settings’. ‘Potentially unwanted app blocking’ will now be enabled and ‘Block apps’ and ‘Block downloads’ will be ticked. Defender will now warn you if it suspects you have any PUPS already installed and in future will warn you if you’re about to install one (note that the latter only works when using Edge).
Stop updates hogging your broadband
Windows updates use your broadband to download to your PC, which can affect your internet connection. Windows 10 now lets you control precisely how much bandwidth Windows updates can use.
Go to Settings, ‘Update & Security’, Delivery Optimisation, then ‘Advanced options’. Previously, you could only restrict the bandwidth available to Windows updates by a percentage of the total available. The new ‘Absolute bandwidth’ setting lets you set a specific speed in Mbps for foreground updates (those that download after you’ve scanned for updates) and background updates (those Windows downloads automatically). In the screenshot below left, we’ve chosen to allow our foreground updates to take place slightly faster (5Mbps) than background ones (1Mbps).
Disable Cortana
Microsoft has struggled to get people to use its Cortana voice assistant, but it’s not giving up on it just yet. In the May Update Cortana gets a revamped design that looks more like a chat window on a phone. When you speak or type commands or questions (such as ‘What’s the weather tomorrow?’) they appear in a chat bubble on the right side of the window, with Cortana’s response appearing on the left (see screenshot below). We like the new look, but it’s frustrating that Cortana still can’t respond to simple commands such as ‘Set a five-minute timer’.
Rename your virtual desktops
Windows’ Virtual Desktops tool lets you create multiple desktops on a single PC and switch between them by clicking the Task View button (next to the Cortana button on the taskbar). It’s useful for separating different activities – you could have one desktop for your work and one for personal use, for example. The May 2020 Update refines this concept by letting you rename each virtual desktop, so you can more easily identify which one you want to switch to. Click Task View, then click ‘+New desktop’ to add a virtual desktop followed by its default name (eg, Desktop 1, Desktop 2), then type the name you want.
Install a fresh Windows easier
Sometimes, the only way to fix an ailing PC is to reinstall Windows. You’ve always been able to do this from within your existing Windows installation but only by reinstalling the operating system from your PC’S recovery partition, often along with the manufacturer’s original bloatware. The May 2020 Update’s new Cloud Download option allows you to reinstall a fresh copy of the latest version of Windows, directly from Microsoft.
To do this, go to Settings, ‘Updates & Security’, Recovery, then click the ‘Get started’ button under ‘Reset this PC’. Click ‘Keep my files’, then select ‘Cloud download’ (see screenshot above right).
Get more info in Task Manager
The May Update introduces some small changes to Task Manager. To see these, press Ctrl+shift+escape to open Task Manager. Click ‘More details’ (bottom right) to reveal the full Task Manager window.
Click the Performance tab and you’ll notice all Disk entries are now marked as either SSDS (see screenshot above right) or HDDS (traditional hard drives). This is particularly useful if you use more than one type of drive because you’ll be able to quickly tell them apart. Additionally, if your PC has a dedicated graphics card (rather than the integrated graphics chips found on some desktop PCS and most laptops), you’ll now be able to see its temperature – simply click the GPU entry in the Performance tab. It’s a nice touch, but we’d like to see Microsoft go further and show temperature details for the processor as well as fan speeds.
Make your cursor easier to see
If you struggle seeing your text cursor (the line that shows your position when editing text), go to Settings, ‘Ease of Access’, then ‘Text cursor’. Here you can increase the text cursor’s thickness and enable a special new text cursor indicator. This puts coloured blobs at the top and bottom of your cursor (see screenshot above), helping you locate it on a busy page of text. You can also customise the size and colour of the indicator here.
Make Windows faster
If you have an old computer running Windows 10, you may find it can slow to a crawl. The reason for this can vary, but Windows Search is often the culprit. Windows Search periodically indexes the files on your PC, which lets you access search results faster. While this doesn’t pose a problem for modern computers with fast SSDS, the indexing process takes its toll on PCS with traditional hard drives (HDDS).
The May Update promises to reduce the impact of Windows Search on older PCS by pausing indexing when you’re most likely to be using your PC. Additionally, if the index process is already running, Windows will temporarily stop it if you start using your PC. Although this sounds sensible, we didn’t notice any immediate improvement in performance on an old laptop with an HDD.
If you do have an old PC with an HDD, we’d love to hear whether the May Update has sped things up or not - email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk.