Windows recently released the 1903 update, and while I was installing it, I dug into Windows 10 settings a bit to see if there was anything I didn’t know about yet.

I’ve discovered a few interesting things that I didn’t even know existed, which just show that you should always check your settings regularly to see what’s under the hood.

To access the settings, open the Windows menu and click the gear icon.

Ransomware protection

For those who have so far been fortunate enough to avoid ransomware, this is when a cybercriminal sends a virus into someone’s computer system (possibly as an infected email attachment). The virus then completely blocks the computer system and the owner cannot return until he pays a ransom (usually in the form of bitcoins) to the criminal.

Windows 10 has an interesting feature where you can enable what they call “Controlled Folder Access”. You need to enable Windows Defender for it to work so that it can conflict with other antivirus installed on your system. This feature allows you to lock folders to prevent applications from accessing areas they shouldn’t enter and save files in those areas.

You can find ransomware protection on the Updates & Security– Windows Security– Virus & Threat Protection page.

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Storage Sensor

I am always busy with uninstallation to free up as much space on my computer as possible. Little did I know that Windows can also do this for you automatically. This feature is called Storage Sense and is located in System– Storage .

You don’t have to worry about deleting important files such as photos and work documents. Instead, it focuses on crap like temporary internet files, cookies, cache and the like. Common garbage clogging Windows pipes.

Interestingly, he will also suggest getting rid of “previous Windows versions” on your PC. Depending on your situation, this can take up quite a lot of space – almost 20 GB in my case!

Clipboard history sync

Regular computer users will most likely copy and paste text (CTRL + C) all the time, but did you know that if you are logged in to two or more Windows computers under the same Windows email, you can sync clipboard history on these computers?

You can configure this in System– Clipboard .

You can also view the last few items to copy and paste to the clipboard by pressing the Windows key and V.

Connect your smartphone

People use multiple devices very often these days. Move from PC to laptop and smartphone. What if you are reading something on one Windows device and you want to see it on, say, your smartphone?

You can link your smartphone to your computer through your Windows account under Phone.

This works for both iPhones and Android phones. You need to have the Edge browser installed on your phone for it to work and view in Edge on your other devices.

To send the link to your phone, simply open the share menu in Edge and select your phone.

Sync your settings

If you use the same login information across all your Windows devices, you can sync many other things to make the user experience easier.

From themes to passwords, language preferences, and more, all you have to do is sign in with the same Microsoft account and enable the sync feature under Accounts Sync Settings.

Windows Search

When you search for a file in the search box in Windows Explorer, what it comes back with will depend entirely on your settings in this setting in Search– Search Windows .

The Classic option only returns results from your libraries and desktop. But this potentially excludes many other areas. Thus, you can choose the “Enhanced” option, which indexes the entire computer. Keep in mind that if you follow this route, your search results may be full of dirt.

You can reduce the likelihood of junk getting into search results by adding folders to Excluded Folders so they don’t go missing. For example, your operating system is Windows

Improve Delivery

This is a really smart feature that can help a lot if you have an unstable internet connection and are frustrated trying to install Windows updates.

Other computers on your local network or on the Internet can send portions of Windows updates to your computer for download. You can limit the bandwidth so that it doesn’t take away from your data plan, and you can decide if another computer needs to be on your local network or if it can connect to the Internet.

You can enable this in Update & Security– Delivery Optimization

Troubleshoot

Finally, a Windows PC wouldn’t be a real Windows PC if something wasn’t happening regularly. I’m right?

This is why the troubleshooting section in settings at Update & Security– Troubleshoot is really helpful. This gives you a list of all the different Windows tools you can use to figure out why something is happening. Usually, if a potential crash could occur on your computer, there is an automatic troubleshooter for that.

Although I’ve used a troubleshooting tool the last couple of times to figure out how to fix the problem, it told me there was no problem!

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