How to activate Windows 10

In order to use Windows 10 in a totally legitimate way, it is necessary to activate the system, this means to validate your copy. We show you what you need to validate your copy and how you can do it through the settings

To activate Windows 10, you need to have a digital license or a product key, only by having one you can activate your copy and guarantee that it is being used according to the software license terms established by Microsoft. You will have one or the other depending on how you obtained Windows 10.

A digital license is a code directly connected to your Microsoft account. You do not need to perform an action on the computer, just log in and connect your PC to the Internet, the activation will be done automatically. Windows digital licenses are purchased from the official Microsoft store. There, you will find the Home version and the Pro version. Once the purchase has been made, you will receive the necessary data in your Microsoft email account.

Computers that come with Windows 10 pre-installed also use this type of license. In these cases, you can extract the code from the operating system itself in case you need it in the future. It is also the type of license you get when you upgrade a legal version of Windows 7 or Windows 8 using the free upgrade system implemented by Microsoft since the release of Windows 10.

The product key is a numeric code of 25 characters, separated by dashes in blocks of 5 characters. This is the code you get when you buy the operating system from an authorized dealer or distributor, for example.

Whether you have a digital license or a product key to activate your version of Windows 10, access your Windows settings. You can do this through the gear icon on the home menu.

Access the Windows 10 configuration

Search through all Update & Security options.

Press Update & Security

In the menu on the left, select the Activation option.

Go to the Activation section

Among all the options, select Change product key.

Press Change Product Key

Enter the product key in the text box and tap Next. At that moment, your version of Windows 10 should be activated.

Type in the license number and press Next

It is possible to use Windows 10 without activating it. In that case, there are some limitations: you will always see a watermark on the screen that warns you that you are using an unactivated version and you will not be able to customize the wallpaper, the colors or the lock screen.

How to disable Cortana in Windows 10

You do not like Cortana and the features it offers? We will show you how you can disable Microsoft's Virtual Voice Assistant to ensure that there is no trace of it on your operating system

Cortana is the voice assistant for Windows 10, but you might not want to use it for different reasons. In that case, it is possible to disable its functions through the Windows registry.

Click the Start button on your Windows menu and type in regedit. Select the first option in the search results:

Access to the registry editor

If you are asked for administrator permissions, grant them so you can make changes to the system.

Give the software permissions to make changes

Browse to the route HKEYLOCALMACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Policies\\Microsoft\\Windows. Once there, click with the mouse right button on the blank right space and select New>Key to create a new folder.

Creation of a new folder in the registry

A new subfolder will be created in the folder tree in the left menu and you can name it. Be sure to name it Windows Search.

Creation of the Windows Search folder

Click on the new folder and in the white space on the right side, right-click and select New>DWORD (32-bit).

Creation of a new DWORD entry

Set AllowCortana as the name.

The new registry must be called AllowCortana

Finally, double click on that new file to edit its values. Make sure you set the Value Data field to 0 and press Ok.

Edit the values of AllowCortana

After rebooting Windows 10, Cortana will have completely disappeared from the system and you no longer have to worry about it. If you want to revert the change at any time, just follow these same steps in reverse and set the value to 1, it will return Cortana and all its functions to your screen.

How to unzip password-protected ZIP files

Extracting a password-protected ZIP using Windows 10

Using Windows' integrated file compression and decompression tool, it is possible to open password-protected ZIP files. First, search for the file on your PC and double-click it. That should let you see its contents.

Issues may occur when opening the ZIP files or extracting them to a new folder on your computer. In both cases, Windows will display a pop-up window warning that the files are password protected. Type the password in the Password text box and press Ok on the right side.

Extracting password-protected ZIP files using WinRAR

WinRAR is a popular file compression and decompression software that supports password-protected ZIP files. First, you must make sure you have the software installed on your PC. If it is not installed, download the executable from the green Download button below.

Once you have the software installed and ready to use, find the password-protected ZIP file you want to open. Now, you have two different options to open it. With a double click, you can see the content of the file as you would with the system's integrated tool.

When you try to open a specific file or move it to another directory on your hard drive, you will be asked for the password. Type the password in the text box and click Ok at the bottom of the window.

Your second option is to use the context menu options. When you install WinRAR and if you do not specify otherwise, its options will be added to the Windows context menu. Find the file, right-click it, and select the option you are interested in.

Depending on the option chosen, you will be able to see the content as in the previous case or the same window will appear directly for you to enter your password. Do it, click on the Ok button and you will be able to work with the files inside without any problem.

How to protect a folder with a password on Windows 10

There is no native Windows 10 method of password-protecting folders, but there is a little trick to creating a password-protected folder. It is not the most intuitive process in the world, but it can help us at a particular moment.

Create a text file with the name you want in the same directory where you will place the protected folder. For example Protected Folder. Right-click on a blank space on your desktop and select New> Text Document.

Creation 

Now, rename the file as Protected Folder.

Creation of a TXT

Open the document and paste the following code:

cls

@ECHO OFF

title Folder Locker

if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK

if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER

:CONFIRM

echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)

set/p "cho=>"

if %cho%==Y goto LOCK

if %cho%==y goto LOCK

if %cho%==n goto END

if %cho%==N goto END

echo Invalid choice.

goto CONFIRM

:LOCK

ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"

attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"

echo Folder locked

goto End

:UNLOCK

echo Enter password to Unlock folder

set/p "pass=>"

if NOT %pass%==INPUT YOUR PASSWORD HERE goto FAIL

attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"

ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Locker

echo Folder Unlocked successfully

goto End

:FAIL

echo Invalid password

goto end

:MDLOCKER

md Locker

echo Locker created successfully

goto End

:End

Substitute in the text INPUT YOUR PASSWORD HERE with the password that you want to protect the folder with. Once done, save the text file with the extension .bat. To do this, go to the menu File>Save As...

Option to save the TXT created

Make sure the file extension is .bat and select the file type All files. When you are done, press Save in the lower right corner.

Save the doc as a BAT file

You have just created the app that will let you generate and hide your new password-protected folder. Double-clicking on this BAT file will create an automatic folder for you to save all your files in.

Newly protected folder already created

Once you have saved everything you need in it, double-click on the BAT file again. A window will open on the Windows screen asking if you want to hide the protected folder. Type Y as a synonym for Yes to do so, or N if the answer is no.

Confirmation window to hide the folder

When you confirm the operation, the folder will disappear from your sight. When you need it back, just press the BAT file twice again. That will open a new window where you will have to type the key and press Enter to make the folder visible again.

Enter the password to open the folder

Note that this will only work if you have the option to not show hidden folders enabled in Windows 10. But if these folders are visible, your protected folder will also be visible and all these steps will be useless.

How to Create Folder Without Name in Windows 10

you will learn how to create a folder in Windows Without or No Names.
If your friends don't already know about this trick, then they will really get amazed at how you did this?
This trick applies to Windows XP / Vista / 7 / Windows 8, 8.1 & Windows 10. In Windows XP, if ALT+0160 doesn't work then you can press the ALT+0255 key combination.

How to Create a CON Folder

1. Using the Command Prompt:

Here is a step-by-step procedure to create the “con” folder using the command prompt:

1. Go to the command prompt:
2. Type in the command prompt (For ex. To create a folder in the E: drive by name: “CON”)

    C:\>md \\.\e:\con 

3. In case if you wish to delete the folder, use the following command:

    C:\>rd \\.\e:\con 

NOTE: This folder can only be deleted from the command prompt. You cannot remove it by right-click delete.