Windows 8.1 All-in-One For Dummies

by Woody Leonhard 

at a Glance

Book I: Starting Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 4 N00bs
Windows 8.1 for the Experienced
CWhich Version?
Upgrades and Clean Installs
Book II: Personalizing Windows 8.1
Getting Around Windows 8.1
Changing the Lock and Logon Screens
Working with Charms and Notifications.
Controlling Users
Microsoft Account: To Sync or Not to Sync?
Privacy Control
Book III: Navigating the Start Screen
Controlling the Start Screen
Searching in and with the Start Screen
Sharing Among Tiled Apps
Settings, Settings, More Settings, and Devices
Taking Control of the Windows Store
Book IV: Maximizing Tiled Windows 8.1 Apps
Running Metro Internet Explorer
Using Metro Mail, People, and Calendar Apps.
The Windows 8.1 Photos App
Xbox Music and Video
Book V: Connecting Online with Tiled Apps
Using SkyDrive in Windows 8.1
Using Skype in Windows 8.1
Getting Started with Facebook
Getting Started with Twitter
Bing News, Finance, Travel, Sports, Fitness, and Food
Games, Games, and Games
Book VI: Working on the Desktop
Running the Desktop from Start to Finish
Personalizing the Desktop
Metro Mods for Desktop Users
Maintaining Your System
Using Windows (Live) Essentials
Choosing and Using a Desktop Web Browser
Music on the Desktop
Book VII: Controlling Your System
Controlling Control Panel
Troubleshooting and Getting Help
Working with Libraries
Storing in Storage Spaces
Getting the Most from HomeGroups
Running the Built-In Desktop Applications
Working with Printers
Book VIII: Maintaining Windows 8.1
File History, Backup, Data Restore, and Sync
A Fresh Start: Restore and Reset
Using and Avoiding Windows Update
Monitoring Windows
Using System Tools
Book IX: Securing Windows 8.1
Spies, Spams, Scams — They’re Out to Get You
Fighting Viri and Scum
Running Built-In Security Programs
Top Security Helpers
Book X: Enhancing Windows 8.1
Using Your iPad and iPhone with Windows 8.1
Kindle, Android, and Windows 8.1
Getting Started with Gmail, Google Apps, and Drive
Using Hotmail and Outlook.com.
Best Free Windows Add-Ons

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Book Details
 Price
  4.00 USD
 Pages
 1059 p
 File Size
  64,993 KB
 File Type
  PDF format
 ISBN
 978-1-118-82087-2 (pbk)
 978-1-118-82100-8 (ebk)
 978-1-118-82116-9 (ebk)
 Copyright   
 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc 

About the Author
Curmudgeon, critic, and fiercely independent “Windows victim,” Woody
Leonhard has dished up the truth about Microsoft products since his first
Windows book two decades ago. Windows 8.1 All-in-One For Dummies, his
41st and most ambitious computer book, takes on both sides of the Windows
8.1 interface, and then branches out to cover the ways Windows interacts
with all sorts of products — iPads to Google Apps, Facebook to Mac networks,
VPNs to Android. Woody’s unique reader-first approach ensures that
you get the best advice about solving your problems — whether Microsoft
likes it or not.

Woody is best known online as a senior contributing editor for InfoWorld, and
Contributing Editor of Windows Secrets Newsletter. He also runs AskWoody.
com, the web’s leading source of news about Microsoft updates. He tweets
frequently on tech topics from @woodyleonhard.

He’s a Microsoft MVP, one of the first Microsoft Consulting Partners, and a
charter member of the Microsoft Solutions Provider organization. He delights
in being a constant thorn in Microsoft’s side. Along with several coauthors
and editors, Woody has won an unprecedented six Computer Press
Association awards and two American Business Press awards.
Woody moved to Phuket, Thailand, in 2000, married a southern Thai lady —
yes, they met in Starbucks — and they now have a toddler who keeps life running
a mile a minute.
About This Book
Windows 8.1 All-in-One For Dummies takes you through the Land of the
Dummies — with introductory material and stuff your grandmother can (and
should!) understand — and then continues the journey into more advanced
areas, where you can truly put Windows to work every day.

I start with the tiled Start screen, and for many of you, that’s all you’ll
ever need. The Start screen coverage here is the best you’ll find anywhere
because I don’t assume that you know Windows, and I step you through
everything you need to know both with a touch screen and a mouse.
Then I dig in to the desktop and take you through all the important pieces.
I don’t dwell on technical mumbo jumbo and I keep the baffling jargon to
a minimum. At the same time, though, I tackle the tough problems you’re
likely to encounter, show you the major road signs, and give you a lot of help
where you need it the most.

Whether you want to get two or more e-mail accounts set up to work simultaneously,
hook into your Facebook friends, or share photos of your Boykin
Spaniel in SkyDrive, this is your book. Er, I should say ten books. I’ve broken
out the topics into ten different minibooks, so you’ll find it easy to hop
around to a topic — and a level of coverage — that feels comfortable.
I didn’t design this book to be read from front to back. It’s a reference. Each
chapter and each of its sections are meant to focus on solving a particular
problem or describing a specific technique.

Windows 8.1 All-in-One For Dummies should be your reference of first resort,
even before you consult Windows Help and Support. There’s a big reason
why: Windows Help was written by hundreds of people over the course of
many, many years. Some of the material was written ages ago, and it’s confusing
as all get-out but it’s still in Windows Help for folks who are tackling
tough “legacy” problems. Some of the Help file terminology is inconsistent
and downright misleading, largely because the technology has changed so
much since some of the articles were written. Finding help in Help frequently
boggles my mind: If I don’t already know the answer to a question, it’s hard
to figure out how to coax Help to help. Besides, if you’re looking for help on
connecting your iPad to your PC or downloading pictures from your Galaxy
phone, Microsoft would rather sell you something different. The proverbial
bottom line: I don’t duplicate the material in Windows 8 Help and Support,
but I point to it if I figure it can help you.

A word about Windows 8.1 versions. Microsoft makes several different versions
of Windows 8.1, but it also makes an incompatible product called, confusingly,
Windows RT. It’s a completely different kind of Windows, made for
small, light, highly portable tablets known as “ARM architecture,” because
the computers’ innards are designed by a company called ARM. This book
doesn’t cover ARM computers or the version of Windows called Windows RT.
While many of the interactions with the tiled Mr. Hyde side of Windows 8.1
are basically identical to those on Windows RT, there are many, many differences.
Don’t try to psych out Windows RT using the nostrums in this book.

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................. 1
About This Book...............................................................................................2
Foolish Assumptions........................................................................................3
What You Don’t Have to Read.........................................................................4
How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................4
Conventions......................................................................................................6
Icons...................................................................................................................6
Beyond the Book..............................................................................................7
Where to Go from Here....................................................................................8
Book I: Starting Windows 8.1......................................... 9
Chapter 1: Windows 8.1 4 N00bs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Hardware and Software.................................................................................13
Why Do PCs Have to Run Windows?............................................................14
A Terminology Survival Kit...........................................................................16
What, Exactly, Is the Web?............................................................................20
Getting inside the Internet...................................................................21
What is the World Wide Web?.............................................................22
Who pays for all this stuff?..................................................................23
Buying a Windows 8.1 Computer..................................................................24
Inside the big box.................................................................................27
Inside a touch-sensitive tablet............................................................29
Screening...............................................................................................31
Managing disks and drives..................................................................32
Making PC connections........................................................................35
Futzing with video, sound, and multitudinous media......................37
Netbooks and Ultrabooks....................................................................39
Chapter 2: Windows 8.1 for the Experienced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
What’s New for the XP Crowd.......................................................................44
Improved performance........................................................................45
Better video...........................................................................................45
Other improvements............................................................................47
What’s New for Windows 7 and Vista Victims............................................48
Getting the hang of the Metro Start screen.......................................48
Exploring new stuff in the old-fashioned desktop............................49
What’s New for Windows 8 Users.................................................................50
What’s New for All of Windows....................................................................51
Security improvements........................................................................52
What’s new in the cloud.......................................................................53
What you lose........................................................................................53
Do You Need Windows 8.1?...........................................................................55
Chapter 3: Which Version? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Roll an 8 — Any 8............................................................................................58
Buying the right version the first time...............................................59
Narrowing the choices.........................................................................60
Choosing 32-Bit versus 64-Bit........................................................................62
Chapter 4: Upgrades and Clean Installs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Deciding Whether to Upgrade Your Old PC................................................66
Choosing Your Upgrade Path........................................................................68
Upgrading XP or Win7 to Windows 8.1 online..................................69
Installing Win8.1 from a DVD or USB drive........................................74
Upgrading Windows 8 to Windows 8.1...............................................81
Cleaning the Gunk Off New PCs....................................................................81
What If the Wheels Fall Off?..........................................................................82
Book II: Personalizing Windows 8.1.............................. 83
Chapter 1: Getting Around Windows 8.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Windows’ Jekyll and Hyde Personality........................................................86
A tale of two homes..............................................................................87
Switching from the Start screen to the old-fashioned
desktop and back..............................................................................89
Navigating around a Touchscreen...............................................................91
Navigating with a Mouse and Keyboard......................................................97
Keying Keyboard Shortcuts..........................................................................99
Working with the App Bar...........................................................................101
Shutting Down Apps.....................................................................................101
How Do You Turn This Thing Off?..............................................................102
Chapter 2: Changing the Lock and Logon Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Working with the Lock Screen....................................................................103
Using your own picture......................................................................105
Adding and removing apps on the lock screen..............................106
Logging In Uniquely......................................................................................108
Using a picture password..................................................................108
Creating a PIN......................................................................................112
Bypassing passwords and logon.......................................................113
Chapter 3: Working with Charms and Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Bringing on the Charms...............................................................................115
Search charm......................................................................................117
The problem with Smart Search.......................................................119
Share charm........................................................................................120
Start charm..........................................................................................122
Devices charm.....................................................................................122
Settings charm....................................................................................123
Setting and Responding to Notifications...................................................125
Chapter 4: Controlling Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Why You Need Separate User Accounts....................................................130
Choosing Account Types.............................................................................131
What’s a standard account?..............................................................131
What’s an administrator account?...................................................132
Choosing between standard or administrator accounts...............133
What’s Good and Bad about Microsoft Accounts....................................134
Adding Users.................................................................................................135
Enabling the Guest Account........................................................................139
Changing Accounts.......................................................................................140
Changing other users’ settings.........................................................140
Changing your own settings..............................................................144
Switching Users............................................................................................145
Chapter 5: Microsoft Account To Sync or Not to Sync? . . . . . . . . . . . 147
What, Exactly, Is a Microsoft Account?.....................................................148
Deciding Whether You Want a Microsoft Account..................................149
Setting Up a Microsoft Account..................................................................151
Setting up a Hotmail/Outlook.com account....................................152
Making any e-mail address a Microsoft account............................154
Taking Care of Your Microsoft Account....................................................155
Controlling Sync...........................................................................................157
Chapter 6: Privacy Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Why You Should Be Concerned..................................................................160
Knowing What Connections Windows Prefers.........................................162
Controlling Location Tracking....................................................................163
Blocking all location tracking............................................................166
Blocking location tracking in an app................................................167
Minimizing Privacy Intrusion......................................................................168
Book III: Navigating the Start Screen......................... 171
Chapter 1: Controlling the Start Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Touring the Start Screen..............................................................................174
Changing Tiles on the Start Screen............................................................181
Changing the Start Screen Background.....................................................183
Organizing Your Start Screen......................................................................184
Changing your picture........................................................................184
Showing All Apps................................................................................187
Forming and naming your groups....................................................189
Moving groups with Semantic Zoom................................................190
Working with Tiled Metro Snap..................................................................191
Showing All Apps View All the Time..........................................................194
Chapter 2: Searching in and with the Start Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
General Approaches to Searching..............................................................198
Searching for Programs/Apps.....................................................................201
Searching for Settings..................................................................................204
Searching for Files........................................................................................206
Chapter 3: Sharing Among Tiled Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Sharing the Easy Way...................................................................................210
Stepping Through a Photo Share................................................................213
What Can You Share?...................................................................................215
Controlling Share..........................................................................................216
Chapter 4: Settings, Settings, More Settings, and Devices . . . . . . . . 219
Using the Settings Charm............................................................................219
Changing PC Settings...................................................................................221
Touring the Start Screen Settings...............................................................224
Doing the Devices Charm............................................................................225
Chapter 5: Taking Control of the Windows Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Checking Out What a Tiled App Can Do....................................................230
Browsing the Windows Store......................................................................232
Searching the Windows Store.....................................................................236
Adjusting Your Store Accounts and Preferences.....................................237
Book IV: Maximizing Tiled Windows 8.1 Apps.............. 241
Chapter 1: Running Metro Internet Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Introducing the Two Faces of IE.................................................................244
Navigating Metro Internet Explorer...........................................................247
Surfing with the address bar and navigation buttons....................248
Tapping Metro IE’s recently visited sites........................................249
Navigating with Flip Ahead................................................................251
Flipping to the desktop IE..................................................................251
Sharing and Printing Web Pages.................................................................252
Sorting Out Your Settings............................................................................253
Charming Metro IE settings...............................................................253
Changing your default search engine...............................................254
Managing passwords..........................................................................255
Choosing and Setting a Default Browser...................................................255
Setting the default Windows browser..............................................255
Setting the default IE browser...........................................................256
Chapter 2: Using Metro Mail, People, and Calendar Apps . . . . . . . . 259
Choosing a Mail/Contacts/Calendar App..................................................260
Comparing e-mail programs..............................................................260
Comparing calendar apps..................................................................262
Checking out contact apps................................................................263
Choosing the right package...............................................................263
Drilling Down on Windows 8.1 Metro Mail................................................264
Navigating the Windows 8.1 Mail screen.........................................264
Adding a new account........................................................................267
Creating a new message.....................................................................269
Searching for e-mail in Metro Mail....................................................271
MIA in Metro Mail...............................................................................271
Putting All Your Contacts in the Metro People App................................272
Adding accounts to Metro People....................................................272
Navigating the Metro People app.....................................................275
Editing a contact.................................................................................278
Adding people in Metro People........................................................280
Avoiding Metro Calendar App Collisions..................................................281
Adding Calendar Items.......................................................................285
Struggling with Calendar shortcomings...........................................286
Chapter 3: The Windows 8.1 Photos App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Discovering What Metro Photos App Can Do...........................................287
Touring Photos.............................................................................................288
Editing Photos...............................................................................................291
Adding Photos...............................................................................................295
Importing Pictures from a Camera or External Drive..............................295
Chapter 4: Xbox Music and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Why You May Want Xbox Music or Video................................................302
Playing Your Music with Xbox Music........................................................303
Viewing Your Videos with Xbox Video......................................................308
Managing Playlists........................................................................................310
Turning Off the Tiled Apps as Default Media Players..............................312
Book V: Connecting Online with Tiled Apps................. 315
Chapter 1: Using SkyDrive in Windows 8.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
What Is SkyDrive?.........................................................................................318
Using the Tiled Metro SkyDrive..................................................................321
Using SkyDrive on Your Desktop................................................................325
Running SkyDrive on the Web....................................................................327
Fetching.........................................................................................................331
Chapter 2: Using Skype in Windows 8.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Exploring Skype Alternatives......................................................................335
Where Can You Find Metro Skype?............................................................336
Installing “Legacy” Skype.............................................................................338
Making First Contact....................................................................................341
Adding a Contact..........................................................................................342
A Few Tips from Skype-ologists..................................................................346
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Facebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
The Many Faces of Facebook......................................................................350
Signing Up for a Facebook Account...........................................................351
Choosing basic Facebook settings...................................................354
Interpreting the Facebook interface lingo.......................................357
Choosing basic Facebook security settings....................................358
Building a Great Timeline............................................................................360
Chapter 4: Getting Started with Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Understanding Twitter.................................................................................366
Setting Up a Twitter Account......................................................................369
Tweeting for Beginners................................................................................372
Beware hacking...................................................................................372
Using the @ sign and Reply................................................................373
Re-tweeting for fun and profit...........................................................374
Hooking Twitter into Windows...................................................................375
Chapter 5: Bing News, Finance, Travel, Sports, Fitness, and Food . . . 377
Recognizing the Bing in Everyone..............................................................378
Reading the News with Bing........................................................................378
Getting around Bing News.................................................................379
Customizing Bing News......................................................................384
Pinning Finance for Fun and Profit.............................................................388
Traveling with Your Tablet.........................................................................394
Sports Fans Everywhere, Take Note..........................................................396
The Two New Metro Bing Apps..................................................................399
Chapter 6: Games, Games, and Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Searching the Store for Games...................................................................402
Cutting the Rope with Style.........................................................................404
Tapping Pirates Love Daisies......................................................................406
Starting with Sudoku....................................................................................408
Beating Birzzle..............................................................................................409
Book VI: Working on the Desktop................................ 413
Chapter 1: Running the Desktop from Start to Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Getting Around..............................................................................................416
Knowing the desktop’s hot spots.....................................................416
Cooling down the desktop’s hot spots............................................419
Snapping windows into place............................................................420
Changing the mouse...........................................................................423
Exploring Files and Folders.........................................................................424
Nailing the basic terminology...........................................................425
Navigating............................................................................................427
Viewing and Filename Extensions....................................................429
Previewing...........................................................................................430
Creating files and folders...................................................................430
Copying, moving, and modifying files and folders.........................432
Sharing Folders in the Public Folder..........................................................438
Touching on the Taskbar............................................................................440
Recycling.......................................................................................................441
Creating Shortcuts........................................................................................443
Sleep: Perchance to Dream.........................................................................445
Chapter 2: Personalizing the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Recognizing Desktop Levels........................................................................447
Setting Color Schemes on the Desktop......................................................449
Picking a Background...................................................................................450
Controlling Icons..........................................................................................453
Selecting Screen Savers...............................................................................455
Using Desktop Themes................................................................................457
Seeing Your Desktop Clearly.......................................................................458
Setting the screen resolution............................................................458
Activating and adjusting ClearType.................................................460
Showing larger fonts...........................................................................461
Using magnification............................................................................462
Tricking Out the Taskbar.............................................................................462
Anatomy of the taskbar......................................................................463
Jumping................................................................................................463
Changing the taskbar.........................................................................465
Making your own little toolbars........................................................466
Working with the taskbar..................................................................468
Controlling the Notification Area...............................................................469
Chapter 3: Metro Mods for Desktop Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Drop That Stupid Background....................................................................473
Installing New Programs and Dealing with Their Tiles............................474
Finding and Adding Programs to the Start Screen...................................476
Sorting through the Metro Start Tiles........................................................480
Starting to Form Your Metro Start Screen.................................................482
Organizing the Start Screen for a Lean Mean Desktop............................484
Booting to the Desktop................................................................................486
Chapter 4: Maintaining Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
What’s the Difference Between Restore, System Repair,
Recovery Mode, Refresh, and Restart?..................................................489
Using a Password Reset Disk......................................................................491
Creating a Password Reset Disk........................................................492
Using a Password Reset Disk.............................................................493
Maintaining Drives........................................................................................495
What is formatting?............................................................................495
Introducing hard-drive–maintenance tools.....................................496
Running an error check......................................................................497
Defragmenting a drive........................................................................498
Maintaining Solid State Drives....................................................................499
Zipping and Compressing............................................................................500
Compressing with NTFS.....................................................................502
Zipping the easy way with Compressed (zipped) Folders............503
Chapter 5: Using Windows (Live) Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Introducing the Applications and How They’ve Changed.......................506
Getting the Windows Essentials Apps.......................................................509
Using Windows Live Mail.............................................................................510
Choosing an e-mail program.............................................................511
Running Windows (formerly Live) Mail...........................................513
Adding e-mail accounts......................................................................515
Creating a message.............................................................................517
Managing Windows Photo Gallery.............................................................518
Leafing through the Gallery...............................................................519
Adding photos to Photo Gallery.......................................................522
Tagging pictures.................................................................................524
Finding a tagged picture....................................................................526
Touching up pictures.........................................................................527
Planning panoramas and fuses.........................................................528
Panning Windows Movie Maker..................................................................530
Chapter 6: Choosing and Using a Desktop Web Browser . . . . . . . . . 533
Which Browser’s Best?................................................................................534
Considering security..........................................................................534
Looking at privacy..............................................................................535
Picking a browser...............................................................................536
Setting a browser as your default.....................................................538
Using Internet Explorer on the Desktop....................................................539
Setting a default Internet Explorer...................................................540
Navigating in desktop IE....................................................................541
Dealing with cookies...........................................................................547
Changing the home page...................................................................548
Turning on key features.....................................................................550
Searching with alacrity . . . and Google............................................552
Customizing Firefox......................................................................................553
Installing Firefox..................................................................................554
Browsing privately in Firefox............................................................555
Bookmarking with the Fox.................................................................557
Adding Firefox’s best add-ons...........................................................558
Optimizing Google Chrome.........................................................................560
Installing Chrome................................................................................561
Navigating in Chrome.........................................................................562
Searching on the Web..................................................................................564
Finding what you’re looking for........................................................565
Using Advanced Search.....................................................................566
Pulling out Google parlor tricks........................................................568
Referring to Internet Reference Tools.......................................................569
Internet speed test..............................................................................569
DNSStuff...............................................................................................569
3d Traceroute......................................................................................570
Down for everyone or just me?.........................................................571
The Wayback Machine.......................................................................571
Chapter 7: Music on the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
Getting Started with Windows Media Player............................................573
Pinning WMP to the Start menu or taskbar.....................................574
Setting WMP right the first time........................................................575
Tweaking privacy options after installation....................................578
Playing with Now Playing............................................................................580
Controlling the playback buttons.....................................................582
Playing a CD.........................................................................................583
Copying from a CD (Also Known As Ripping)...........................................584
Understanding music file formats.....................................................585
Adjusting the WMP ripping settings.................................................585
Organizing Your Media Library..................................................................589
Leafing through the library................................................................589
Changing album and song data.........................................................591
Rating songs........................................................................................591
Sorting songs.......................................................................................592
Searching.............................................................................................592
Managing Playlists........................................................................................593
Creating a new playlist.......................................................................593
Renaming and deleting playlists.......................................................595
Burning CDs and DVDs................................................................................596
Burning an audio CD...........................................................................597
Burning data CDs and DVDs with Media Player..............................601
Sharing Your Windows Media Player Media.............................................602
Customizing WMP.........................................................................................603
Where to Find and Buy Good Music...........................................................605
Buying music and videos online.......................................................605
Using the Amazon music store.........................................................607
Finding new music you’ll like............................................................608
Book VII: Controlling Your System.............................. 611
Chapter 1: Controlling Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
Exploring the Real Control Panel................................................................613
Bringing up the Control Panel...........................................................614
Scouting out the Control Panel.........................................................615
Relying on Device Manager.........................................................................617
Stuffing AutoPlay..........................................................................................620
Uninstalling/Changing Programs................................................................622
Turning Windows Features On and Off......................................................624
Setting Default Programs.............................................................................626
Changing the default for a filename extension................................626
Changing the default browser or e-mail program...........................628
Adding and Switching Clocks......................................................................630
Changing Languages.....................................................................................631
Enabling Ease of Access Features..............................................................632
Chapter 2: Troubleshooting and Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Starting with the Help + Tips tile................................................................636
Troubleshooting in the Action Center.......................................................637
System Stability and the Reliability Monitor............................................639
Tricks to Using Windows Help....................................................................640
The problem(s) with Windows Help................................................642
Using different kinds of help.............................................................642
Staying online......................................................................................643
Choosing the index versus search....................................................643
How to Really Get Help................................................................................644
Snapping and Recording Your Problems..................................................646
Taking snaps that snap......................................................................647
Recording live.....................................................................................648
Connecting to Remote Assistance..............................................................651
Understanding the interaction..........................................................651
Making the connection.......................................................................652
Limiting an invitation.........................................................................657
Troubleshooting Remote Assistance...............................................657
Getting Help Online......................................................................................658
Chapter 3: Working with Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
Understanding Libraries..............................................................................661
Making Your Libraries Visible.....................................................................662
Working with Your Default Libraries.........................................................665
Customizing Libraries..................................................................................667
Adding a folder to a Library..............................................................668
Changing a Library’s default save location.....................................669
Creating Your Own Library.........................................................................671
Chapter 4: Storing in Storage Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Understanding the “Virtualization” of Storage.........................................673
Setting Up Storage Spaces...........................................................................676
Working with Storage Spaces......................................................................679
Chapter 5: Getting the Most from HomeGroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681
Preparing a PC for a HomeGroup...............................................................681
Connecting to a HomeGroup.......................................................................683
Setting up a new HomeGroup............................................................685
Joining an existing HomeGroup........................................................687
Sharing Files and Printers in a HomeGroup..............................................688
Navigating to a HomeGroup Folder............................................................689
Caring for Your HomeGroup.......................................................................690
Using the tiled HomeGroup interface...............................................690
Changing the HomeGroup password...............................................691
Adding or blocking folders in the HomeGroup...............................693
Venturing beyond HomeGroups.................................................................694
Sharing and granting permissions....................................................694
Sharing on mixed HomeGroup, workgroup,
and Apple networks........................................................................697
Chapter 6: Running the Built-In Desktop Applications . . . . . . . . . . . 701
Getting Free Word Processing....................................................................701
Running Notepad................................................................................703
Writing with WordPad........................................................................705
Taming the Character Map..........................................................................708
Calculating — Free.......................................................................................708
Painting..........................................................................................................710
Sticking Sticky Notes....................................................................................711
Chapter 7: Working with Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
Installing a Printer........................................................................................714
Attaching a local printer....................................................................714
Connecting a network printer...........................................................716
Using the Print Queue..................................................................................719
Displaying a print queue....................................................................719
Pausing and resuming a print queue................................................720
Pausing, restarting, and resuming a document..............................721
Canceling a document........................................................................722
Troubleshooting Printing............................................................................722
Catching a Runaway Printer........................................................................724
Book VIII: Maintaining Windows 8.1.......................... 727
Chapter 1: File History, Backup, Data Restore, and Sync . . . . . . . . . 729
What Happened to the Windows 7 Backup?.............................................730
Backing Up and Restoring Files with File History.....................................731
Setting up File History........................................................................731
Restoring data from File History.......................................................735
Changing File History settings..........................................................737
Storing To and Through the Cloud............................................................739
Considering cloud storage privacy concerns.................................739
Reaping the benefits of backup and storage in the cloud.............741
Choosing an online backup and sharing service............................741
Chapter 2: A Fresh Start: Restore and Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
The Three R’s — and a Fourth RE..............................................................745
Refreshing Your PC......................................................................................748
Resetting Your PC.........................................................................................750
Restoring to an Earlier Point.......................................................................753
Creating a restore point.....................................................................753
Rolling back to a restore point..........................................................755
Entering the Windows Recovery Environment.........................................758
Chapter 3: Using and Avoiding Windows Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
Patching Woes..............................................................................................762
Choosing an Update Level...........................................................................765
Selectively Patching: A Panacea for Those Woes.....................................770
Patching Windows manually.............................................................770
Checking for updates manually........................................................774
Getting What You Need from a Security Bulletin.....................................777
Decoding a security bulletin..............................................................778
Getting patches through a security bulletin...................................779
Checking and Uninstalling Updates...........................................................779
Chapter 4: Monitoring Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783
Obeying the Action Center..........................................................................784
Entering the Action Center..........................................................................785
Working with the Action Center.................................................................786
Watching Security settings................................................................786
Checking Maintenance settings........................................................788
Reviewing Your Network Status.................................................................790
Turning sharing on or off...................................................................791
Troubleshooting network adapters..................................................793
Setting up a virtual private network.................................................794
Viewing Events..............................................................................................795
Using Event Viewer.............................................................................796
Events worthy — and not worthy — of viewing.............................797
Gauging System Reliability..........................................................................798
Chapter 5: Using System Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801
Tasking Task Manager.................................................................................801
Task Manager Processes...................................................................804
Task Manager Performance...............................................................804
Task Manager App History................................................................805
Task Manager Startup and autoruns................................................806
Task Manager Users...........................................................................808
Task Manager Details and Services..................................................808
Installing a Second Hard Drive....................................................................809
Running a Virtual Machine..........................................................................811
Book IX: Securing Windows 8.1.................................. 819
Chapter 1: Spies, Spams, Scams — They’re Out to Get You . . . . . . . 821
Understanding the Hazards — and the Hoaxes........................................822
The primary infection vectors..........................................................823
Zombies and botnets..........................................................................824
Phishing...............................................................................................826
419 scams.............................................................................................831
I’m from Microsoft and I’m here to help..........................................834
0day exploits.......................................................................................835
Staying Informed...........................................................................................836
Relying on reliable sources...............................................................837
Ditching the hoaxes............................................................................838
Am I Infected?................................................................................................839
Evaluating telltale signs.....................................................................840
Where did that message come from?...............................................840
What to do next...................................................................................842
Shunning scareware...........................................................................843
Getting Protected.........................................................................................845
Protecting against malware...............................................................845
Disabling Java and Flash....................................................................846
Using your credit card safely online................................................847
Defending your privacy......................................................................849
Reducing spam....................................................................................850
Chapter 2: Fighting Viri and Scum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853
Basic Windows Security Do’s and Don’ts..................................................853
Making Sense of Malware............................................................................857
Scanning for Rootkits with Windows Defender Offline............................859
Deciphering Browsers’ Inscrutable Warnings..........................................862
Chrome.................................................................................................863
Firefox...................................................................................................864
Internet Explorer 11............................................................................864
Chapter 3: Running Built-In Security Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
Working with Windows Defender...............................................................867
Adjusting Windows Defender............................................................869
Running Windows Defender manually.............................................870
Judging SmartScreen....................................................................................872
Booting Securely with UEFI.........................................................................875
A brief history of BIOS........................................................................875
How UEFI is different from/better than BIOS..................................876
How Windows 8.1 uses UEFI..............................................................878
Controlling User Account Control..............................................................878
Poking at Windows Firewall........................................................................882
Understanding Firewall basic features.............................................883
Speaking your firewall’s lingo............................................................884
Peeking in to your firewall.................................................................884
Making inbound exceptions..............................................................886
Chapter 4: Top Security Helpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889
Deciding about BitLocker............................................................................890
Managing Your Passwords..........................................................................893
Using password managers.................................................................893
Which is better: Online or inhand?...................................................893
Rockin’ RoboForm..............................................................................894
Liking LastPass....................................................................................895
Keeping Your Other Programs Up to Date................................................896
Blocking Java and Flash in Your Browser.................................................898
Fighting Back at Tough Scumware.............................................................901
Book X: Enhancing Windows 8.1................................ 903
Chapter 1: Using Your iPad and iPhone with Windows 8.1 . . . . . . . . 905
Running iTunes on Windows, Or Maybe Not............................................906
Why you may need or want iTunes for Windows...........................907
Installing iTunes..................................................................................908
Setting up iTunes................................................................................910
Pulling Internet videos onto your iPad............................................913
Creating a movie playlist...................................................................914
Great iPad Apps to Use with Windows......................................................916
Controlling Windows from your iPad...............................................917
Delivering PowerPoint presentations with your iPad....................918
Extending your Windows display with iDisplay.............................919
Moving files between your PC and the iPad....................................919
Working with Windows documents on the iPad.............................920
Playing with Kids on Your iPad or iPhones...............................................921
Chapter 2: Kindle, Android, and Windows 8.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925
Wrangling E-Book Files................................................................................926
Introducing popular e-book formats................................................927
Reading e-book files on your PC.......................................................927
Organizing your e-book files with calibre........................................928
Getting Media from Your PC to Your Kindle.............................................931
E-mailing books from your PC to your Kindle.................................931
Receiving e-mailed books from a friend...........................................932
Adding music to your Kindle.............................................................934
Using the Tiled, Metro Kindle App.............................................................935
Syncing Contacts and Calendars................................................................936
Syncing Outlook contacts with Android devices............................936
Syncing calendars...............................................................................937
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Gmail, Google Apps, and Drive . . . 939
Finding Alternatives to Windows with Google..........................................940
Setting Up Gmail...........................................................................................942
Using Google Docs/Drive.............................................................................946
Moving Your Domain to Google..................................................................950
Chapter 4: Using Hotmail and Outlook.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955
Getting Started with Outlook.com..............................................................956
Bringing Some Sanity to Outlook.com Organization................................960
Handling Outlook.com Failures..................................................................961
Importing Outlook.com Messages into Gmail...........................................963
Weighing the Alternatives...........................................................................965
Chapter 5: Best Free Windows Add-Ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967
Windows Apps You Absolutely Must Have...............................................967
File History...........................................................................................967
Start8....................................................................................................968
VLC Media Player................................................................................969
PSI Inspector........................................................................................971
Recuva..................................................................................................972
The Best of the Rest — All Free..................................................................973
Revo Uninstaller..................................................................................973
Paint.net...............................................................................................973
7-Zip......................................................................................................974
Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, or . . ..........................................974
You may not need to buy Microsoft Office......................................975
Don’t Pay for Software You Don’t Need!....................................................976
Windows 8.1 has all the antivirus software you need....................976
Windows 8.1 doesn’t need a disk defragger....................................976
Windows 8.1 doesn’t need a disk partitioner..................................977
Windows 8.1 doesn’t need a Registry cleaner.................................977
Windows 8.1 doesn’t need a backup program................................978
Don’t turn off services or hack your Registry.................................978
Index........................................................................ 979

Bookscreen
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Introduction
Windows 8.1 is the version of Windows that Microsoft should’ve
shipped instead of 8.0. Unfortunately, it took the ’Softies an
extra year to get their act together. Fortunately, it looks like the original
Windows 8 will die a quick and unlamented death.
Windows 8.1 shows two completely different personas: the traditional desktop
and the tiled Start screen interface. The traditional Windows desktop
resembles every Windows desktop you’ve seen over the past decade, give
or take a bit. More than 1.4 billion people have used it, if Microsoft’s numbers
can be trusted. The tiled “immersive” persona represents the future of Windows.

Like almost everyone in the computer world, I call the tiled side of Windows
8.1 Metro. Microsoft calls that side of the fence so many different things it’s
hard to keep them all straight — immersive, modern, “Windows 8 app,”
Windows Store app, full-screen, Live tile, Start screen, and many more
unprintable things. For me, Metro tells the whole story of the tiled half.
Although Microsoft gave up on the term Metro to describe the tiled, boxy,
phone-like, almost-always-full-screen side of Windows 8, I use it here. Why?
Because nobody’s come up with a better name. In fact, the whole industry
has ignored Microsoft’s official shunning of the term. You’ll see Metro
mentioned in books, online articles, blog posts — even in Microsoft’s own
official programming blogs (the ones that aren’t vetted by Microsoft Legal
or PR). Apparently Microsoft reached some sort of agreement with German
retailer Metro AG, that involved Microsoft dropping the name Metro. Hey, I
didn’t make the agreement. Neither did anyone else in the industry. So, it’s
Metro here — and many other places where Windows 8 is discussed.
I think of the desktop as the staid, dependable, conservative Dr. Jekyll and
the tiled Start screen as the dashing, new, outlandish, and occasionally inexplicable
Mr. Hyde.

You may prefer Jekyll. You may prefer Hyde. You’ll certainly find yourself,
from time to time, jumping between the two, sometimes at the moment you
least expect. But, armed with this book, you can make both places work the
way you want.
Prefer the desktop? I show you how to change the Start screen so it’ll help
you get more out of the desktop. Prefer the showy tiles? I show you how to
get a lot done — quite possibly almost everything you want a computer to
do — without leaving the tiles behind.

This isn’t the manual Microsoft forgot. This is the manual Microsoft wouldn’t
dare print. I won’t feed you the Microsoft Party Line or make excuses for
pieces of Windows 8.1 that just don’t work: Some of it’s junk. My job is to
take you through the most important parts of Windows, give you tips that
may or may not involve Microsoft products, point out the rough spots, and
guide you around the disasters. Frankly, there are some biggies.

I also look at using non-Microsoft products in a Windows way: iPads,
Androids, Kindles, Gmail and Google Apps, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox,
Firefox, Google Chrome, and iCloud. Even though Microsoft competes with
just about every one of those products, each has a place in your computing
arsenal and ties into Windows in important ways.

I’ll save you more than enough money to pay for the book several times
over, keep you from pulling out a whole shock of hair, lead you to dozens
if not hundreds of “Aha!” moments, and keep you awake in the process.
Guaranteed.

What You Don’t Have to Read
Throughout this book, I’ve gone to great lengths to separate “optional” reading
from “required” reading. If you want to find out more about a topic or
solve a specific problem, follow along in the main part of the text. You can
skip the sidebars as you go, unless one happens to catch your eye.

On the other hand, if you know a topic pretty well but want to make sure
that you catch all the high points, read the paragraphs marked with icons
and be sure that the information registers. If it doesn’t, glance at the surrounding text.

Sidebars offer information above and beyond what you need to know for
those who are curious about a specific topic — or who stand knee-deep in
muck, searching for a way out.

Beyond the Book
You can find additional features of this book online. 
Visit the web to find these extras:
to find this book’s Cheat Sheet. Here, you can find tips for navigating
Windows 8.1’s Metro (tiled) and desktop interfaces, top tasks
for new Windows 8.1 users, and suggestions on how to customize Windows 8.1.
✦ Dummies.com online articles: Go to www.dummies.com/extras/windows8dot1aio 
to find the Extras for this book. You’ll find articles
covering topics ranging from the case against Smart Search, to Reading
View in Internet Explorer 11, to what’s wrong with Windows Automatic Update.
✦ Updates: Our technology books sometimes have updates. To check for
updates to this book, go to www.dummies.com/extras/windows8dot1aio.
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