How-To Geek - Microsoft

Microsoft Excel Can Now Stop Turning Everything Into a Date

Corbin Davenport — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 17:11:46 GMT

Microsoft Excel converting numbers into other formats has been a running joke for years, especially with date conversions, Microsoft rolled out a new setting last year that turns off data conversions like scientific notation and removing leading zeroes, and now an additional setting to turn off date conversion has arrived. Also, the options are available on Excel for Mac for the first time.

Windows 11 Setup Now Includes a Fun Surfing Game

Andrew Heinzman — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:55:10 GMT

Microsoft's frustratingly slow Windows 11 setup process now includes a fun distraction: the "Let's Surf" game. Modeled after 1991's "SkiFree," "Let's Surf" is a fast-paced obstacle avoidance game where you navigate an endless course and endure attacks from a kraken. Windows 11 will ask if you want to play "Let's Surf" while setting up a new PC, though you can play it at any time by entering edge://surf in the Microsoft Edge address bar.

Windows Defender Accidentally Flags Tor Browser as a Trojan

Andrew Heinzman — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 20:46:47 GMT

On September 30th, Microsoft Defender began deleting instances of Tor Browser from users' PCs. The antivirus tool falsely identified Tor Browser as a “Win32/Malgent!MTB” trojan. Microsoft confirms that this was a false-positive and has removed Tor Browser from the latest Defender signature database (version 1.397.1910.0). You may now update Microsoft Defender and reinstall Tor Browser (or restore it from quarantine).

Microsoft Lists Task Manager Is Now Available for Everyone

Andrew Heinzman — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 17:37:33 GMT

After a long wait, Microsoft Lists is now available for free. Microsoft Lists is a flexible task management tool that allows you to track household or professional work, create itineraries, save recipes, and more. It's an interesting option for individuals and families, though it offers advanced collaborative and calendar features for businesses, clubs, and other groups. Previously, Microsoft Lists was exclusive to business and enterprise users, though Microsoft opened a limited preview for 200,000 people last year.

Microsoft Ends Free Windows 10 & 11 Upgrades for Windows 7 & 8

Andrew Heinzman — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:06:19 GMT

Microsoft just closed its free upgrade path for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. This may seem like an insignificant change, but it will affect two very large groups of people. Enthusiasts can no longer use their old Windows 7 and 8 product keys to activate Windows 10 or 11 on a new PC or in a virtual machine. And stubborn gamers who refused to install Windows 10 will soon be forced to make an upgrade, as Steam will stop working on Windows 7 and 8 in 2024. If you need to make the Windows 10 upgrade, do it fast, as the upgrade path appears to still be open for some users.

How to Play Minesweeper

Tim Brookes — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:01:34 GMT

Minesweeper is a game of deduction that dates back to at least 1990, though the concept originated even before that. Here’s a refresher on the rules, plus a list of the best modern Minesweeper iterations.

Windows Paint Is Adding AI Image Generation From Dall-E

Arol Wright — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 20:47:05 GMT

One of the biggest surprises reserved for upcoming versions of Windows is the fact that Paint is trying to be more Photoshop-like than ever. After decades being a bog-standard basic image editor, it's now surprising people with new features such as layers, transparency, and a neat option to automatically remove the background of pictures. Now, being a Microsoft product, it can't ship without some AI features, and for Paint, it won't be any different.

New Outlook for Windows Will Get Offline Support, ICS Imports, and More

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 17:33:35 GMT

Following over a year of public testing, Microsoft released the new Outlook for Windows last week as a replacement for the Windows 10-era Mail and Calendar apps. It's supposed to eventually replace the regular Outlook client (from Microsoft Office/365), but there are a lot of features still missing before that can happen. Microsoft has now provided information on the features coming to the new Outlook over the next few months.

The New Outlook for Windows Has Arrived

Corbin Davenport — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:10:30 GMT

Microsoft has been working on a completely new Outlook email app for Windows for over a year, intended to replace the Windows 10-era Mail and Calendar applications, and eventually the classic Windows Outlook client. Now, the new Outlook app is officially available for everyone, and is starting to roll out as pre-installed with Windows 11.

Surface Laptop Studio 2 Takes Aim at the Macbook Pro

Arol Wright — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:21:04 GMT

Microsoft's Surface laptops are intended to be a showcase for what a Windows PC can do, and while some of them have been better than others, the lineup is one of the best competitors against Apple's MacBook laptops. Now, at the company's latest hardware event, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 was announced, and it's a huge upgrade from the original model.

Surface Laptop Go 3 Has Better Hardware, but There’s a Catch

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 15:45:18 GMT

The Surface Laptop Go is Microsoft's budget laptop, positioned as a more affordable alternative to the Surface Laptop and Surface Laptop Studio. However, the lower cost does mean it has skipped out on features like a high-resolution screen and a wide port selection, which can be found in other PCs in the same price range. Microsoft just revealed a new model that addresses many of the limitations of the previous laptop, but at a new price that places it (mostly) outside the budget laptop market.

Microsoft Excel is Adding a Python Editor

Arol Wright — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 14:42:22 GMT

If you know how to use it, Microsoft Excel can be a tremendously powerful and versatile tool. Of the Word-PowerPoint-Excel trio of apps, Excel is probably the most powerful one. It's simple to use for data storing, but if you want to, you can make all sorts of things with it — some people have even made games. Now, though, those options are just growing exponentially with Python integration.

How to Use PowerPoint's Designer Feature to Take the Pain Out of Presentations

Sydney Butler — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 11:00:29 GMT

Like many people (myself included), you may have moved on from Microsoft PowerPoint to a more intuitive and interesting presentation software such as Canva or Prezi. However, if you haven't kept track, you might have missed PowerPoint's killer feature: Designer.

How to Restart Outlook on Windows

Mahesh Makvana — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 12:00:29 GMT

By restarting Microsoft Outlook on your Windows PC, you can fix many minor Outlook issues as well as bring your changes in the app into effect. Whether it's frozen or just a little glitchy, we'll show you how to easily restart your email client on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC.

Dark Mode in Windows 11 Is Getting a Much-Needed Improvement

Andrew Heinzman — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 16:06:17 GMT

Since the introduction of dark mode to File Explorer, Windows users have encountered a "white flash" when opening or maximizing a File Explorer window. This bug is over five years old and remains a major annoyance. But Microsoft is finally doing something about it. The latest Windows 11 Insider build (22621.2338, or 22631.2338 for Beta Channel testers) introduces several bug fixes and improvements, including a fix for the "white flash" issue.

Windows Wants to Phase Out Third-Party Printer Drivers

Andrew Heinzman — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 16:53:41 GMT

Over the next four years, Microsoft will slowly wean Windows off of third-party printer drivers. Manufacturers will lose the ability to publish printer drivers in Windows updates, and the Windows operating system will mainly rely on Microsoft's IPP Class Driver, which offers native support for Mopria-compliant printer devices. The transition may not be smooth for everyone, but it should streamline printer usage and development, as manufacturers won't need to tailor drivers to each Windows release.

How to Add a Drop-Down List to a Cell in Excel

Lori Kaufman — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:31:29 GMT

Drop-down lists are very useful data entry tools we see just about everywhere, and you can add custom drop-down lists to your own Excel worksheets. It’s easy and we’ll show you how.

Struggle With Large Blocks of Text? Check Out Edge’s Immersive Reader Mode

Joe Charpentier — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 13:00:26 GMT

Struggling to digest large chunks of online text? Discover how Microsoft Edge's immersive reader mode can transform your reading experience, making content more manageable and enjoyable.

Microsoft Was Testing Aggressive Bing Popups in Windows

Arol Wright — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 14:07:57 GMT

With the rollout of AI features to Bing, Microsoft actually gave people a reason to use it over Google. Sadly, though, as generative AI is landing everywhere (including on Google), the novelty is starting to wear off, and people are starting to see Bing the way they've always seen it. Microsoft's answer to this? It looks like the company is taking a page from malware developers and pushing pop-ups trying to remind you that, yes, Bing exists and it's so much better than Google.

Microsoft Already Ruined Windows 11 Widgets

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 11:01:27 GMT

Microsoft brought widgets back with the release of Windows 11 in 2021, and the company has continued to change their behavior and options since then. There are now more widgets available (including some ones not made by Microsoft), and the widget board is larger, which should make them just as useful as widgets on iPhone or Android. Instead, Microsoft has turned widgets into yet another avenue for promoted content that no one wants, pushing useful features to the side.

Microsoft Edge Is Removing a Few Useful Features

Corbin Davenport — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 19:22:27 GMT

Microsoft Edge has so many "features" unrelated to browsing that it's not a stretch to call the browser bloatware. There's some functionality that can be useful, like the Bing Chat sidebar and Drop file sharing, and then there are integrated MSN games and loans. Microsoft is now trimming a few features from Edge, starting with the next major release.

Save 84% on Lifetime Access to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and More

Meghan Herlihy — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 17:00:27 GMT

Most of us use some form of Microsoft Office on a regular—if not daily—basis, whether for work or personal use, or both. Rather than pay for a monthly or annual Microsoft 365 subscription, save yourself hundreds by grabbing this deeply discounted copy of Office Professional 2021 today.

Parallels Desktop 19 Improves Windows and Linux VMs on Mac

Andrew Heinzman — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 16:17:53 GMT

In anticipation of macOS Sonoma, Alludo (previously Corel) has launched Parallels Desktop 19. The updated virtualization software offers several interesting improvements, including ARM-based Linux VM support with x86-64 emulation and the ability to use Touch ID verification in Windows VMs. Of course, Parallels Desktop still costs $100 a year or a one-time payment of $130 for a perpetual license. Those who bought a perpetual license for the previous release must pay $70 to upgrade.

Python Is Coming to Microsoft Excel, With a Few Catches

Corbin Davenport — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 15:56:20 GMT

Microsoft Excel has many built-in functions for manipulating and organizing data, and on Mac on Windows, you can extend the application even further with the use of VBA scripts. Microsoft is now introducing support for running Python code in your Excel spreadsheet, opening up even more possibilities for data analysis.

WinRAR Has a Severe Security Flaw: Update Your PC Now

Andrew Heinzman — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 16:48:37 GMT

A severe WinRAR vulnerability discovered by Zero Day Initiative could allow hackers to execute arbitrary code on your PC. Users should install the latest WinRAR update (version 6.23) to patch this vulnerability. Note that WinRAR does not offer automatic updates, so this release must be installed manually.

OneNote for Android Goes Beyond Basic Notetaking in New Update

Andrew Heinzman — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 14:48:28 GMT

The Android version of OneNote is notoriously basic, especially when compared to the desktop and iPad apps. But Microsoft just introduced some notable improvements for OneNote on Android, including easily-accessible formatting tools, real-time note sharing, and the ability to quickly insert tables. Your OneNote app may update automatically, though you can manually install the update from the Google Play Store.

Microsoft Excel's Formula Bar Has a New Look

Corbin Davenport — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 20:48:51 GMT

Microsoft Excel has changed a lot since the first version arrived in 1987, but much of the core functionality is still the same. The formula bar is one of those components that has remained mostly the same, but now Microsoft is introducing a small but important change: a new font.

Windows 11 Will Soon Let You Remove More Preinstalled Apps

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 16:52:37 GMT

Windows 10 and 11 both have many applications and utilities preinstalled, but some of the tools aren't helpful on every PC, or there are third-party alternatives that you might prefer to use instead. Thankfully, a few more preinstalled applications on Windows 11 will soon be (officially) removable, according to a recent announcement from Microsoft.

How to Move Outlook's Toolbar From the Side to the Bottom

Mahesh Makvana — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 12:00:11 GMT

Has your Outlook toolbar containing options like Mail and Calendar moved to the app’s left sidebar? Do you want to bring it back to the app’s bottom bar? If so, you have two easy ways to do that, and we’ll show you how on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer. Let’s get started.

Microsoft Adds a Modern Touch to One of Excel's Oldest Features

Andrew Heinzman — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 20:10:41 GMT

When you need to modify an Excel spreadsheet without triggering any new calculations, you turn on manual calculation mode. This is one of the oldest features in Microsoft Excel, and after three decades, it still suffers from one awkward problem—Excel doesn't indicate when a change you've made in manual mode affects an existing calculation. If you aren't careful when editing a spreadsheet in manual calculation mode, you can end up with incorrect or "stale" values.

PowerPoint Now Has Task Management, Because Why Not

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:38:12 GMT

Collaboration with groups has been a selling point for Google Docs for years, and Microsoft has adopted many of the same features for its Microsoft 365 applications. You can already leave comments in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents for other people to read, but now Microsoft is adding more advanced task management to comment threads.

Windows 11 Update Makes Screen Casting More Useful

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:04:17 GMT

Microsoft added Miracast support to Windows back in 2013, allowing you to project your PC's screen to a display, TV, projector, or other display using a wireless network connection (instead of cables). That feature still isn't popular, though, and now the company is updating it to be more noticeable and useful.

Microsoft Word for Web Is Now Closer to the Desktop Apps

Corbin Davenport — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 21:01:39 GMT

Microsoft Word might still be most associated with the long-running native desktop application, but it's also been available in web browsers for years as a more Google Docs competitor. Microsoft just announced two features coming to the web version that were previously limited to the desktop version and mobile apps.

Every Strikethrough Shortcut for MS Office, Google Docs, & Gmail

Mahesh Makvana — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:00:26 GMT

Applying the strikethrough effect (which adds a line crossing your text) in popular apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Google's online office suite, and Gmail is as easy as pressing a key combination. Let us show you what those keyboard shortcuts are for the Windows and Mac computers.

Dark Mode Is Coming to Bing’s Website

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 15:55:14 GMT

Microsoft has been rapidly building up the Bing website over the past few months, as Bing Chat adds new features and AI responses appear in regular web searches. However, the Bing site was still missing an option for a dark mode, making it stand out (in a bad way) against all the desktop apps and sites that now have that feature. Thankfully, Microsoft is finally fixing that.

The New Outlook for Windows is Coming in August

Corbin Davenport — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 13:55:25 GMT

Microsoft has been testing a completely new Outlook mail app for Windows for more than a year now, progressing from a slightly-modified web app into a (nearly) full-featured modern mail application. It looks like Microsoft is almost ready to roll it out to everyone, based on a statement provided to Microsoft 365 admins.

How to Calculate Variance in Microsoft Excel

Ben Stockton — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 14:00:26 GMT

Variance is used to measure the spread of data values against the mean in a data set. Microsoft Excel can be used to calculate this variance to help you analyse your data, determine its quality, and make important decisions.

How to Remove Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word

Mahesh Makvana — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 13:00:27 GMT

Don't want to see those paragraph symbols that Word displays for each paragraph in your documents? If so, you have two ways to turn those paragraph icons off. We'll show you how.

How to Use Less Than or Equal To in Excel

Mahesh Makvana — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 13:01:26 GMT

Using the less-than-or-equal-to

Bing Chat AI Can Now Understand Your Pictures

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:55:28 GMT

Bing Chat, ChatGPT, and other similar generative AI tools have mostly been focused on understanding text content and providing answers. However, it's also incredibly helpful to understand pictures, and that's what Microsoft is now rolling out to its Bing Chat AI.

Microsoft Lists Just Got a Massive Update

Arol Wright — Wed, 03 May 2023 11:48:59 GMT

Microsoft Lists is a solid alternative to Asana and Trello for anyone in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. And now, it's getting even better, with the introduction of new features and a few changes.

OneDrive on the Web Has a New Look and a Lot More Features

Corbin Davenport — Tue, 02 May 2023 13:53:35 GMT

Microsoft has rolled out several small improvements to its OneDrive cloud storage service recently, but now the company has announced a complete overhaul for the web version. It has a new look to match Windows 11, and a few new features.

Microsoft Loop Is Now Available on More Phones

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 14:07:37 GMT

Microsoft Loop entered public preview earlier this year as a new collaborative notes tool, like Notion or Google Workspace Spaces. The public preview was limited to a desktop web app, but now the mobile apps are rolling out more widely.

Microsoft 365 Web Apps Are Moving to a New Home

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 13:42:42 GMT

Microsoft's web apps and services are spread across hundreds of different sites and domains, from the ancient live.com to the more cryptic login.microsoftonline.com. Microsoft now plans to unify many of them under one umbrella.

OneDrive Is Adding More PDF Editing Features

Arol Wright — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:09:22 GMT

OneDrive is already one of the best tools for storing your files online, and if you've ever used it for storing PDF documents, it's about to become much more useful. Soon, you'll be able to write on them without leaving your browser.

OneNote Has a New Scribble Feature for Quick Deletion

Arol Wright — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 10:51:28 GMT

OneNote is one of the most underrated apps in the Microsoft 365 suite, especially if you have a tablet with a stylus. Now, it's easier than ever to erase stuff you wrote.

Microsoft PowerPoint on the Web Has a New Video Feature

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 13:22:30 GMT

PowerPoint has supported adding videos to presentations for years, but the web app hasn't had all the functionality of desktop PowerPoint. Microsoft is trying to change that with a new update.

Microsoft Loop is The Ultimate Team Collab Tool

Arol Wright — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 17:18:30 GMT

Microsoft already has a comprehensive work suite under Microsoft 365. The best part of it, though, is that it gets constantly updated not only with new features, but occasionally with new software as well. The newest member of the 365 family is here: Microsoft Loop.

The New Bing AI Is Coming to More Microsoft Apps

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:48:42 GMT

Microsoft announced earlier in February that it was upgrading Bing with a new ChatGPT-like AI engine, providing conversational responses to queries. The technology is heading to other services, too.

Skype Is Getting a Speed Boost on Apple Silicon Macs

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 11:34:09 GMT

Skype isn't quite as popular as it used to be, and Microsoft has shifted most of its attention to Teams, but Skype still receives the occasional update. It took a while, but Skype is finally testing proper support for M1 and M2 Mac computers.

Microsoft Is Transforming Bing Into an AI Search Engine

Corbin Davenport — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:23:48 GMT

Google is working on AI-powered responses for web searches, a bit like how ChatGPT works when answering questions. It turns out Microsoft also has big plans for AI-powered search, with major changes coming to the Bing search engine.

Microsoft 365 Might Be the Best Tech Subscription

Corbin Davenport — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 18:30:00 GMT

Most of us are drowning under a sea of subscription services, whether they be streaming platforms, cloud storage, phone plans, or anything else. However, there is one right now that is a shockingly good deal, and might even save you money: Microsoft 365.

You Can Now Buy an Official Clippy Holiday Sweater

Chason Gordon — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:08:29 GMT

It wouldn't be surprising if hundreds of years from now, people were under the mistaken impression that Microsoft was founded by Clippy, and not Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The little metal guy seems to continually reappear.

Microsoft's New Surface Pro Is Much More Repairable

Arol Wright — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 12:00:40 GMT

Surface devices, as great as they are, have always been infamous for being unnecessarily hard to repair. Thankfully, if you were looking to buy a Surface Pro 9, you'll be glad to know repairs are slightly easier compared to Microsoft's previous tablets.

Microsoft 365 Subscribers Now Have a Premium Video Editor

Corbin Davenport — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 10:19:49 GMT

Windows 11 ships with the Clipchamp video editor, which has basic features available for free, and more functionality behind a paywall. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, you can now use those features at no extra cost.

OneDrive's New Features Are Catching Up to Google Drive

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 11:43:20 GMT

OneDrive is one of the best cloud storage services around, with apps on all major platforms (except Linux) and Office app integration. During the company's Ignite event, Microsoft revealed new features coming to OneDrive.

Microsoft Designer Fuses PowerPoint With Dall-E 2 AI Art

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 11:49:47 GMT

AI Image Generators have become increasingly popular over the past few months, especially with the availability of Stable Diffusion and its many offshoots. Microsoft is officially entering the AI art game with a new app, Designer.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 Arrives With 12th Gen Core CPUs

Arol Wright — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 11:13:33 GMT

Microsoft finally unveiled new Surface products today at the company's hardware event, where it also commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the first Surface in 2012. The next laptop in the series is the Surface Laptop 5, which you can order starting today.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Comes in New Colors and an ARM Version

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 10:45:46 GMT

The Surface Pro is Microsoft's best tablet Windows PC, and the most recent model arrived alongside Windows 11 last year. Now the Surface Pro 9 is official.

Microsoft Will Launch New Surface PCs on October 12

Arol Wright — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 16:50:12 GMT

Microsoft's Surface lineup of PCs is often regarded as the closest parallel to Apple's Mac computers that exist in the Windows ecosystem, and among the best laptops you can get. And the Redmond-based giant is gearing up for its next Surface announcements in a few weeks.

Microsoft Is Finally Fixing Excel's Data Conversion Problem

Corbin Davenport — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 10:34:05 GMT

Microsoft Excel can automatically detect dates, times, currencies, and more from text and convert them into a parsed format for use in formulas. However, Excel often gets conversions wrong, especially when it comes to dates, which Microsoft is now working to address.

Surface Laptop Go 2 Is Microsoft's New Budget Windows 11 PC

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 13:22:53 GMT

The original Surface Laptop Go was one of the best laptops for students and anyone else not interested in dropping $1,000 or more on a PC. Now the laptop has received a much-needed upgrade.

Microsoft Edge Is Improving Your Installed Web Apps

Corbin Davenport — Wed, 18 May 2022 16:02:08 GMT

Chrome has offered the ability to "install" web apps to your computer for a while now, and the feature is also available on the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge. Now the Edge browser has an easier way to manage web apps, with more improvements on the way.

Here's the New Microsoft Outlook App for Windows and Mac

Corbin Davenport — Mon, 09 May 2022 11:24:25 GMT

Microsoft has reportedly been working on an updated mail client for desktop platforms, based on the company's Outlook service. Now we have our first look at the app in action.

How to Setup VS Code to Be Portable

HTG Staff — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 12:00:09 GMT

In an increasingly agile world of programming and DevOps, not only do the applications and tools you code need to be modular, you may find yourself and the programs needing to be modular as well.

How to Manage WSUS Updates with BatchPatch

HTG Staff — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 15:22:33 GMT

Suppose you don't have access to enterprise-grade Windows patching solutions. In that case, this gem may stand in the gap for SysAdmins that need to mass-manage WSUS updates on a budget.

The Best Free Microsoft Word Alternatives

Suzanne Humphries — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 14:00:00 GMT

When you ask people what program they use to write a report or letter, odds are they'll say Microsoft Word. It has been the go-to word processor for years, but now there are several outstanding---and free---alternatives.

How to Detect and Defeat Cryptominers in Your Network

Dave McKay — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 19:46:07 GMT

Mining for cryptocurrency isn't illegal. But using a computer or network to do so without permission is. Here's how to tell if someone is cryptojacking your resources for their own benefit.

How to Mount Your Microsoft OneDrive in Linux

Dave McKay — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 12:30:42 GMT

Imagine having your Microsoft OneDrive mounted like any other part of your Linux file system. With onedriver you're not reduced to using OneDrive in your browser. Here's how to set it up.

What's New In Visual Studio 2022?

Anthony Heddings — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 12:30:28 GMT

Visual Studio 2022 has now been officially released alongside .NET 6, which it supports. It includes many new features and improvements, such as AI IntelliCode that can auto-complete chunks of code for you.

How to Develop on a Remote SSH Server With Visual Studio Code

James Walker — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 12:00:20 GMT

Editing files stored on a remote server doesn't need to be a clunky mess of shell commands and basic text editors. Visual Studio Code is one of the most popular developer IDEs and an officially supported extension lets you add SSH connections to your workspace.

How To Reset Your Forgotten Linux Password in WSL

Dave McKay — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 11:45:38 GMT

Forget your Windows Subsystem for Linux user password and you'll be locked in a loop. To reset your password ... you need to know your password. Here's how to escape from that cycle.

What Is Microsoft's Blazor Web Framework, and Should You Use It?

Anthony Heddings — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:00:37 GMT

Blazor is a new web framework from Microsoft designed to compete with industry-leading platforms like React. Except, instead of using JavaScript, it runs on the .NET runtime, and allows developers to make interactive web apps with C# and HTML.

How to Edit Code in Docker Containers With Visual Studio Code

James Walker — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 11:30:09 GMT

Developing or debugging code inside Docker containers can be tricky. You'd usually attach to the container and use shell utilities to edit files. Visual Studio Code's Remote Containers extension lets you open folders inside containers, so you can work with them in your code editor.

The Best Free Microsoft Excel Alternatives

Suzanne Humphries — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 14:24:00 GMT

Spreadsheets are ubiquitous: people use them every day for tracking inventory, budgeting, data tracking, and a million other things. And, while Microsoft Excel has been the go-to spreadsheet for years, there are other (free) alternatives you might like more.

How FreeDOS Grew Up and Became a Modern DOS

HTG Staff — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 13:36:15 GMT

I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, and that meant I grew up with computers. Our first home computer was an Apple II, and my brother and I taught ourselves about BASIC programming on the Apple. I wrote a lot of games and math puzzles, because that's really the limit of AppleSoft BASIC programming.

Serving Dynamic Files With Blazor in ASP.NET

Anthony Heddings — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 11:29:30 GMT

One of the many great features of frameworks like Blazor and ASP.NET (which it runs on) is the ability to serve dynamic content at whatever endpoint your application needs. If you'd like to serve downloads of generated files, it's easy to do with a little configuration.

How To Rate Limit Requests In Blazor/ASP.NET Core

Anthony Heddings — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 11:37:35 GMT

If you're making a public API or website, you're probably worried about performance. Rate limiting can help prevent abuse from basic DDoS attacks, and it's pretty easy to set up for Blazor/ASP.NET Core applications.

What is "Workspace Trust" in Visual Studio Code?

James Walker — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:20:48 GMT

Visual Studio Code v1.57 launched in May 2021 with a new "Workspace Trust" feature. This is a security mechanism which helps you avoid accidental code execution when you can't trust a repository's origins.

How to Disable & Fix Password Expiration in Windows Server

Anthony Heddings — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 18:00:18 GMT

Windows Server passwords expire. After a while, your password will be invalid, and you will need to "contact your IT administrator" to reset it manually. But what happens when you are the IT administrator?

Implementing and Using a Microsoft Windows Like 'start' Command in Linux

HTG Staff — Mon, 03 May 2021 13:00:10 GMT

If you're used to the convenient 'start' command at the command prompt in Microsoft Windows, you're likely to be a little disappointed not having the same functionality in Linux. But it need not be!

Why Text in The Terminal Only Has Sixteen Colors

HTG Staff — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 12:00:10 GMT

If you've paid much attention to the Linux terminal window, or the Windows console, you might notice that text only comes in a limited set of colors. Why do the colors look the way they do? How IBM chose to represent text color on the original PC set the standard for text color to follow.

Why DOS Applications Used White-On-Blue Text

HTG Staff — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 13:00:38 GMT

Many DOS applications use white text on a blue background as the default colors. Why is this the default color choice? The answer, like so many things in technology, is because of its history. You'll often find this same color scheme on many Windows and Linux applications that run in character mode.

Why Excel Looks The Way it Does

HTG Staff — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 13:00:51 GMT

The spreadsheet you are probably most familiar with is Microsoft Excel. But have you ever wondered why Excel looks and acts the way that it does? Why does Excel arrange data in a grid of cells? Why are columns identified by letters, and rows by numbers? The answer, like most things in IT, is because of compatibility.

Emulation, Virtualization, and Docker: What's the Difference?

Anthony Heddings — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 13:00:38 GMT

Both emulation and virtualization accomplish the same goal---running another operating system inside a virtual machine. However, they each do this differently, and when it can be used, virtualization is much faster. And how does Docker fit into all this?

How To Access Azure Cloud Shell From Visual Studio Code

HTG Staff — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 13:00:37 GMT

The Azure Cloud Shell is an integrated CLI experience available to Microsoft Azure cloud users. Usually available in either a Linux Bash shell or PowerShell prompt, you can also utilize the Azure Cloud Shell directly in the VS Code integrated development environment.

Getting Started with the Windows Admin Center

HTG Staff — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 14:00:31 GMT

Originally launched in 2017 as Project Honolulu, Windows Admin Center (WAC), or WAC as it became known, has gained lots of functionality and features to make managing your servers, clusters, and Windows 10 PCs that much easier.

Why DOS Was (and Is) a Thing

HTG Staff — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:00:59 GMT

In late 1980, someone at IBM had a pretty neat idea. Responding to the popularity of "personal computers" like the Apple II and the TRS-80, IBM decided to get into the game. After a fast-paced development, IBM announced the first IBM Personal Computer 5150 in August 1981. To hit the market quickly, IBM mostly used off-the-shelf parts and licensed or purchased other components from third parties. One of those was the operating system.

How to Run a Command Before or After a Build in Visual Studio

Anthony Heddings — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 14:00:59 GMT

Visual Studio has a handy feature for running commands before or after builds. This can be used to automate some of your development process, such as pulling in dependencies during the prebuild phase, or sending build artifacts to development environments.

PowerShell 7 Cross-Platform Best Practices

HTG Staff — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 14:00:00 GMT

When PowerShell was first released, the goal was to bring powerful scripting tools to Windows, which typically had GUI-based administration at the time. Since then, PowerShell has grown to become one of the most popular scripting languages.

Learning a New REST API with PowerShell

HTG Staff — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 13:00:15 GMT

Using REST APIs to extend your scripts is a useful feature to implement. You can gain access to new functionalities, and the possibilities to create new more advanced scripts expand.

Deploying Azure VMs with Terraform to Save Money

HTG Staff — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:00:25 GMT

Most of us have done it---deployed temporary VMs to Azure. Something that many of us also have done is to forget to remove resources attached to those VMs when deleting them. This can lead to unwanted costs upwards to thousands of dollars if you're not careful.

Exploring and Using the Graph API for AzureAD

HTG Staff — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 13:00:24 GMT

The Microsoft GraphAPI is a powerful tool to have. Not only can we use it to create tooling to automate our workloads---we can also access new functions earlier.

Getting Started with Azure Container Registry

HTG Staff — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 13:00:20 GMT

In software development, it seems that no matter where you go, no matter who you talk to, containers are the new normal. If you're not developing them or migrating your application already, you're building supporting systems that use them to support a legacy application. Containers are everywhere.

Getting Started with Azure Storage Explorer

HTG Staff — Wed, 06 May 2020 14:00:59 GMT

The Microsoft Azure environment has many features and with them the need to be able to explore and manage the underlying storage infrastructure. There are many ways to do this, but a free tool made available by Microsoft is the Azure Storage Explorer (ASE).

Desired State Configuration (DSC): It's Easier Than You Think

HTG Staff — Mon, 04 May 2020 13:00:00 GMT

Have you ever thought about trying out DSC but felt like the learning curve is too steep? Or perhaps you never saw yourself ever using it in production, so you didn't bother?

What Is Infrastructure Testing and How to Do It with PowerShell

HTG Staff — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 13:00:20 GMT

As we all try to do more with less with automation, we sometimes get to a point where we've got a new problem. We're now running so many scripts and processes that, in the end, we're not sure what "done" looks like

How to Transfer File Permissions with PowerShell

HTG Staff — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:00:18 GMT

Maintaining file share permissions across servers can be a major challenge but by using PowerShell, we can automate this process allowing you to go home early.

Delegating PowerShell Scripts with Just Enough Administration (JEA)

HTG Staff — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 15:00:03 GMT

Have you ever wanted to delegate a task, but found that the permissions needed can be too risky to hand out? Or, have you wanted to lock down things like group creation in AD to enforce naming conventions of groups?

How to Install and Configure PowerShell 7 using Ansible

HTG Staff — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 15:00:22 GMT

PowerShell 7 is a versatile shell and programming language. Now that it is cross-platform, most system admins need a way to deploy the language to multiple systems automatically. To that end, Ansible is a perfect system to create easy to use playbooks to deploy PowerShell 7 to as many systems as may be needed.