New Windows 10 Productivity Improvements

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1 New Windows 10 Productivity Improvements Windows 10 features enhance security and productivity at Microsoft Microsoft IT enabled several enterprise features for its global user base, including Windows Hello for Business, Credential Guard, and Enterprise State Roaming. In addition, implementing Azure Active Directory Join across the enterprise extended cloud capabilities to users with Windows 10 devices. With the update, users saw security enhancements and immediate improvements to productivity.

2 Credential Guard Credential threat attacks are one of the biggest security threats to an organization. In 2014, a number of major companies were victims of an attacker gaining unauthorized access to user credentials. According to the Verizon 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report, participating partners confirmed over 2,000 data breaches worldwide. This report estimated the average loss to an organization, for a breach of 1,000 records, was between $52,000 and $87,000. Credential Guard increases the security of derived domain credentials by using platform security features, including Secure Boot and virtualization. Securing derived domain credentials with virtualization-based security blocks the credential theft attack techniques and tools used in many targeted attacks. Credential Guard uses Virtual Secure Mode to store hashes and tokens in a way that makes unauthorized access difficult. At Microsoft, we added Credential Guard to take advantage of this additional security protection and deployed it using a phased approach. After testing it in our hardware lab to ensure compatibility, the feature was enabled globally using group policy. There were no related help desk calls, validating a seamless adoption. More details about Credential Guard are described in Protect derived domain credentials with Credential Guard. We enjoy the simple manageability of Credential Guard using group policy, but you can also use Windows PowerShell or Windows Management Instrumentation. Credential Guard has a very transparent installation and deployment is simple: go to Group Policy, enable Credential Guard, and push to the domains. Credential Guard is enabled the next time a corporate network user restarts their machine. We continue to monitor the state of Credential Guard with System Center Configuration Manager, visualized in our Power BI dashboard and are on track for 100 percent adoption for all compatible machines.

3 Improved productivity In addition to protecting the enterprise, Windows 10 helps Microsoft network users work the way that they want to work. Now you can achieve greater productivity in your organization. When you prepared for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 11, you already did most of the heavy lifting for your migration to Windows 10 and these great features.

4 Task View To open the Task view click this icon on the task bar (or use the Windows key + TAB shortcut) It will open the Task view showing all your virtual desktops across the bottom with a link to open new ones on the right. In the middle of the screen are the open apps on the active screen. To create a new desktop either click the link in Task View or use the Windows key + CTRL + D shortcut. Desktops can be removed by deleting them in Task View or by using the Windows key + CTRL + F4 shortcut. To switch to different desktop just click on it in Task view. If you hover over a desktop the main screen will switch to the apps on that desktop and you can then click directly on one to make it active. You can also switch between desktops by using the Windows key + Ctrl + Left (or right) Arrow key shortcut. Apps can be moved between desktops or into a new desktop in Task View either by right clicking and using the context menu or by dragging it to the desired desktop.

5 The Alt + Tab shortcut isn't new but you now have the option of configuring this to switch between just the apps on the active desktop or all the apps across all your desktops. To configure the setting go to Settings > System > Multitasking > Virtual Desktops. There is also an option here to show all open apps on the Taskbar or only those for the Active desktop.

6 Quick Access View Microsoft have revamped the look of Windows File Explorer with the most obvious difference being that Favourites has been replaced with Quick Access. The Quick Access view gathers together the most frequently accessed folders and the most recently accessed files. The idea is to speed up your workflow by making the things you use most often just a click away. With the most frequently accessed folders you can pin the folders you want to appear just as you would have done previously with favourites. These folders will always appear in the list along with the most frequently unpinned folders. Alternatively you can make it even more like favourites by stopping Windows putting the most frequently accessed folders in the list so it's just your pinned folders. On the ribbon go to Options > Change folder and search options. On the General tab under Privacy un-tick "Show frequently used folders in Quick access".

7 Whilst you are on this tab you may also want to stop recently used files from showing in Quick access as well. Windows File Explorer opens in Quick access by default and this is all very well if you are always going into the same handful of folders or opening the same files. If you aren't it can actually have the adverse effect, slowing you down whilst you navigate back to This PC and then down the folder tree. You can however alter the default opening behavior and open straight to This PC. Back on the General tab of the Folder options there is a drop list allowing you to choose whether to open File explorer in either Quick access or This PC. Mouse Scrolling an Inactive Window This is going to relieve a lot of frustration! Windows will now let you hover on an inactive window and scroll down it without having to first make the window active. This should be enabled by default but if it isn't working for you go to settings > devices > mouse and touch and make sure "Scroll inactive windows when I hover over them" is enabled. Enhancements to Command Prompt Microsoft has finally updated the Command prompt interface to make it much easier to work in. The additional features need to be enabled so launch the command prompt and right click on the title bar to access Properties. On the Options tab make sure that "Use Legacy Console" is unticked.

8 Then enable the enhancements you want. "Enable Ctrl key shortcuts" lets you use shortcuts such as CTRL + C to copy highlighted text and CTRL + V to paste it into the command line. No more shouts of Doh! As you happily type ^v into your command! "Filter clipboard contents on paste" removes tabs and changes smart quotes to regular quotes when you paste text into your command line "Enable line wrapping" automatically wraps your command when you resize the window. No more scrolling to the right to read the whole line "Extended text selection keys" allows you to use keyboard shortcuts such as SHIFT + End, SHIFT + Home etc. There is one extra really helpful enhancement that can be found at the bottom of the "Colours" tab. The "Opacity" slider allows you to fade the command prompt window so you can work within it but see what is going on in the Windows behind.

9 Schedule Restarts for Windows Updates This nice little feature allows you to decide when the PC will restart to install Windows updates rather than it is interrupting you in the middle of that important Webinar. Go to Settings > updates and security > Windows Updates > Advanced Options in the drop-down box at the top you can choose either "Automatic" or "Notify to schedule restart". When Windows needs a restart to apply updates you will get a notification suggesting the suitable time Windows has chosen and an option to override this and select your own date and time.

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