WIFI password

Recovering a WIFI password.

You need to be logged in to get to the password information.

To access the control panel network connections use the ncpa.cpl tool by selecting the Windows +r keys, type in the “ncpa.cpl” and select run.

Ncpa.cpl is a file associated with the Network Connections control panel in Windows, which allows users to manage network adapters and settings.468 It can be accessed by typing “ncpa.cpl” in the Run dialog box (Windows + R) or by navigating to the Control Panel and opening Network Connections.46 The file is safe and should not be considered a threat to your computer.2

The acronym “NCPA” stands for Network Connections Properties and Adapters.3 This tool is particularly useful for network administrators and users who frequently need to adjust network settings.

Right Click the desired Wireless Network connection from the list.

Select Status from the dropdown list.

Select Wireless Properties

On the “Wireless Network Properties” open the Security tab

On the Security tab, select “Show characters”.

Have fun!

New Windows Snipping tool

Snipping Tool now has Text Extractor in the capture bar

Microsoft is adding a Text Extractor in the Snipping tool. This feature will soon show on the capture bar and will allow you to copy text to your clipboard without having to take a screenshot of your screen. This update is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in all channels.

The new Text Extractor

In this update, we are adding text extractor in the Snipping Tool capture bar – designed to minimize the number of steps it takes to copy text to your clipboard without having to take a screenshot of your screen.

To get started, open Snipping Tool via Win + Shift + S or launch the app and click the new “Text Extractor” button in the toolbar.

Select the region you would like to scan for text (just as you would for standard rectangle snip), and you will be able to manually select the text to copy to clipboard, or you can click on the “Copy all text” button in the toolbar to quickly copy all text in the region. You can also explore the “More options” dropdown menu to “Remove line breaks” from copied text or simplify the experience entirely with the “Automatically copy text” selection, which will dismiss Snipping Tool earlier and automatically copy all text in your selection region directly to your clipboard.

Zero Day

Microsoft patches zero-day, other vulnerabilities

Microsoft patches zero-day, other vulnerabilities

Microsoft issued 71 patches for December Patch Tuesday to address vulnerabilities including a zero-day bug in the Windows Common Log File System, which is under active exploit and could enable system-level privileges. Other critical vulnerabilities include a remote code execution flaw in Windows Lightweight Directory Access Protocol and one in Hyper-V that could allow code execution on the host operating system.

Full Story: Dark Reading (12/10) 

Quick machine Recovery

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

Introducing quick machine recovery

Quick machine recovery (QMR), part of the Windows Resiliency Initiative announced at Ignite 2024 is now available in the latest Windows Insider Preview build. This feature, when enabled, addresses widespread boot issues on Windows 11 devices by automatically detecting and applying fixes directly from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) thereby reducing the system downtime and manual intervention. When a critical boot failure occurs, the device enters WinRE, connects to the network, and sends diagnostic data to Microsoft, which can then deploy targeted remediations via Windows Update. IT admins are encouraged to enable, customize, or test this feature, which is enabled by default for home users. Windows Insiders can start testing it today and provide feedback via Feedback Hub to refine the feature further. In the Feedback Hub app on your Windows device, select Recovery and Uninstall > Quick Machine Recovery. Keep an eye out for a test remediation package coming your way in the next few days, allowing you to experience the quick machine recovery in action.

Microsoft Word

Find and Replace content in a word document:

On the “Home” Tab in the “Editing” section, click the down arrow and select either Find or Replace.

The Find or Replace Navigation will open in the left section of the document.

Type the required content to find in the search box and the results will show

If you selected Replace: The Find and Replace search box will display in a window. Fill in the Find What text in the firsts box and what you want to replace it with in the “Replace with:” dialogue box. Select either “Replace” aor “Replace All“. You will see that the R in Replace and the A in “Repalace All” is under lined so you can use those characters on the keyboard, without having to click on the buttons. If you choose “Replace” you can then click “F” to find the next instance without replacing the instance to skip some choices.

To open the “Find” or “Replace” sections use the keyboard shortcut sequence: CTL F to Find and CTL H to Replace or type “Find” or “Replace” in the Tell me what you want to do Search feature in Ribbon.

I hope that this tip will help you

New Paint in Windows

Paint now makes it easier to create

Paint now comes with new AI-powered tools to help you edit images like a pro and create art like a visionary. Included in the latest version of Windows 11, Paint is your new creative partner.

Paint Features now available:

This is a huge update from the previous versions that was difficult to remove backgrounds, but working with layers was never possible. I am eager to try it and see how it works.

Windows 11 Insider Preview

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

Making sharing files in Windows easier

Sharing files in Windows is getting a lot easier and quicker with our new drag tray feature. When you start dragging a local file with mouse (or touch) from File Explorer or your desktop, a handy tray appears at the very top of your screen allowing you to drop the file into one of the displayed apps or choose “More…”  to open the Windows share window.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[Start menu] 2 Versions

Microsoft is introducing two new views to the “All” page in the Start menu: grid and category view. Grid and list view shows your apps in alphabetical order and category view groups all your apps into categories, ordered by usage. This change is gradually rolling out so you may not see it right away. We plan to begin rolling this out to Windows Insiders who are receiving updates based on Windows 11, version 24H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels soon.

Speach Recognition

To start voice dictation in Windows 11, you can press the Win+H keys together to open the Voice typing tool. Alternatively, you can go to Settings > Accessibility > Speech, and turn on the switch for Windows Speech Recognition. Once enabled, you can click the microphone icon to start dictation in any application where you can type text.

This article is for people who want to control their PC and author text using their voice with Windows. This article is part of the Accessibility support for Windows content set where you can find more information on Windows accessibility features. For general help, visit Microsoft Support home.

Voice access is a feature in Windows 11 that enables everyone to control their PC and author text using only their voice and without an internet connection. For example, you can open and switch between apps, browse the web, and read and author email using your voice. For more information, go to Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice.

Voice access is available in Windows 11, version 22H2 and later. For more information on Windows 11 22H2 new features, and how to get the update, see What’s new in recent Windows updates. Not sure which version of Windows you have? See: Find Windows version.

Dictate punctuation marks

To insert thisSay this
.“Period”
“Full stop”
,“Comma”
?“Question mark”
!“Exclamation mark”
“Exclamation point”
‘s“Apostrophe-s”
:“Colon”
;“Semicolon”
” ““Open quotes”
“Close quotes”
“Hyphen”
“Ellipsis”
“Dot dot dot”
‘ ‘“Begin single quote”
“Open single quote”
“End single quote”
“Close single quote”
( )“Left parentheses”
“Open parentheses”
“Right parentheses”
“Close parentheses”
[ ]“Open bracket”
“Close bracket”
{ }“Left brace”
“Open brace”
“Right brace”
“Close brace”

Dictate symbols

To insert thisSay this
*“Asterisk”
\“Backslash”
/“Forward slash”
|“Vertical bar”
“Pipe character”
_“Underscore”
“Paragraph sign”
“Paragraph mark”
§“Section sign”
&“Ampersand”
“And sign”
@“At sign”
©“Copyright sign”
®“Registered sign”
°“Degree symbol”
%“Percent sign”
#“Number sign”
“Pound sign”
+“Plus sign”
“Minus sign”
דMultiplication sign”
÷“Division sign”
=“Equals sign”
< >“Less than sign”
“Greater than sign”
$“Dollar sign”
£“Pound sterling sign”
“Euro sign”
¥“Yen sign”

Manage voice access and microphone

To do thisSay this
Get voice access to listen to you.“Voice access wake up”
“Unmute”
Put voice access to sleep.“Voice access sleep”
“Mute”
Turn off the voice access microphone.“Turn off microphone”
Close voice access.“Turn off voice access”
“Stop voice access”
“Close voice access”
“Exit voice access”
“Quit voice access”
Find out what command to use.“What can I say”
“Show all commands”
“Show command list”
“Show commands”
Access voice access settings menu.“Open voice access settings”
Access voice access help menu.“Open voice access help”
Access the voice access tutorial.“Open voice access guide”
Switch to commands only mode.“Commands mode”
“Switch to command mode”
Switch to dictation only mode.“Dictation mode”
“Switch to dictation mode”
Switch to default mode (command and dictation).“Default mode”
“Switch to default mode”

Interact with apps

To do thisSay this
Open a new app.“Open <app name>”
“Start <app name>”
“Show <app name>”
Close an open app.“Close <app name>”
“Close window”
“Exit <app name>”
“Quit <app name>”
Switch to an existing app.“Switch to <app name>”
“Go to <app name>”
Minimize a window.“Minimize window”
“Minimize <app name>”
Maximize a window.“Maximize window”
“Maximize <app name>”
Restore a window.“Restore window”
“Restore <app name>”
Open task switcher.“Show task switcher”
“List all windows”
“Show all windows”
Go to desktop.“Go to desktop”
“Go home”
“Minimize all windows”
Search on the browser, where “search engine” can be Bing, Google, or YouTube, and “x” is what you’re looking for.“Search on <search engine> for <x>”
Snap window to a specific direction, where “direction” is left, right, top-left, top-right, bottom-left, or bottom-right.“Snap window to <direction>”
“Snap the window to <direction>”
To search for an entity (Entity can be a file or an application) on your windows PC.“Search <Entity>”
“Search Windows for <Entity>”
“Search for <Entity>”

Interact with controls

To do thisSay this
Select an item.“Click <item name>”
“Tap <item name>”
Double-click an item.“Double-click <item name>”
“Mouse double-click”
Put focus on an item.“Move to <item name>”
“Focus on <item name>”
Expand a list.“Expand <item name>”
Toggle between states.“Toggle <item name>”
“Flip <item name>”
Scroll in a specific direction.“Scroll <direction>”
Start scrolling in a specific direction.“Start scrolling <direction>”
Stop scrolling.“Stop scrolling”
“Stop”
Move a slider in a specific direction by a certain distance, where “direction” is up, down, left, or right and “value” is the distance.“Move slider <direction> <value> times”

Rename User Profile Folder

Rename User Profile Folder in Windows 11

If your computer becomes disjointed from a Domain, and you need to rejoin it to the domain, it will create a new profile folder with additional information in the folder name. Here is a way to change the folder name back to the original.

To rename the user profile folder in Windows 11, you’ll need to follow these steps:

  1. Create a new administrator account: This will allow you to modify the registry and rename the user profile folder without affecting your current account.
  2. Activate the built-in administrator account: Go to Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users > Activate built-in admin.
  3. Sign out and log in to the new administrator account: This will ensure you’re using the correct account for the renaming process.
  4. Rename the user profile folder: Go to the C:\Users\ folder and rename the subfolder with the original user name to the desired new name. Make sure to follow these guidelines:
    • No spaces within the new name.
    • Use only alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers).
  5. Update the registry: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList and update the registry entries associated with your user account to reflect the new folder name.
  6. Restart and log in to your original account: After updating the registry, restart your computer and log in to your original account. The renamed user profile folder should now be reflected.

Important Notes:

  • Renaming the user profile folder can cause issues with some Microsoft Store apps. Signing out and signing back in may resolve these issues.
  • If you encounter problems, consider creating a new local account (without spaces in the name) and moving your files from the old account to the new one. This may be a safer and more straightforward approach.
  • The workaround mentioned in KB article 2454362 (applicable to Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2) is not applicable to Windows 11.

Additional Tips:

  • Be cautious when modifying the registry, as incorrect changes can cause system instability.
  • It’s recommended to create a system restore point before making changes to the registry or user profile folder.
  • If you’re experiencing issues with the renamed user profile folder, try resetting the folder name to its original value and then renaming it again.

By following these steps and guidelines, you should be able to successfully rename your user profile folder in Windows 11.

Windows 11 (faulty update)

Windows 11 update triggers reboots, screens of death

Microsoft’s recent optional update for Windows 11, KB5043145, has caused problems including restart loops, blue and green screen errors, BitLocker problems and dead USB connections. The update is optional, so there’s no need to install it until it is fixed, and users who have installed it and experienced problems can uninstall.

See the full story