Things I do to every newly installed computer

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[Susan Bradley]

And will do so in Windows 11 as well:

1. Open File Explorer from the taskbar.
2. Select View > Options > Change folder and search options.

3. Select the View tab and, in Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives and OK.

While there I also do:

Click the “File name extensions” check box to show file extensions. You can uncheck the box to hide file extensions.

 

I think it’s dumb to still be hiding these.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

• This topic was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Susan Bradley.

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IreneLinda, rc primak, Gee, Cedar, SueW, Lars220, doriel, cmptrgy, wavy, b

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My very first excursion is to the firewall, prior to even updating/patching the system,
either to import previously exported settings using 3rd party firewall solutions or Windows firewall, depending on the target version of Windows.
Susan’s above configuration of explorer is also on my list for ALL versions of Windows irrespective of version.

If debian is good enough for NASA...

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cmptrgy

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Go to device manager and look for orange triangles – unproperly installed device.

This is not the case, when buying brand new pre-installed computer, but definatelly its the case when reinstalling Windows from USB for example.

Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise

HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29

PRUSA i3 MK3S+

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Microfix wrote:

My very first excursion is to the firewall, prior to even updating/patching the system,
either to import previously exported settings using 3rd party firewall solutions or Windows firewall, depending on the target version of Windows.
Susan’s above configuration of explorer is also on my list for ALL versions of Windows irrespective of version.

The firewall caught my attention. Thanks for that.

My OS is Windows 10 Pro. I use Windows Defender.

I found this article
Best practices for configuring Windows Defender Firewall
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-firewall/best-practices-configuring

In Windows Security, I’ll go through Firewall & network protection.

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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I agree with all of those.

Plus, I take the installation off-line and run DISM, SFC and chkdsk.

Then I visit Settings and work my way through there, adjusting things to suit my way of working and shutting down anything I do not use.  I reserve the silver bullet for Cortana…

I then install the backup software, create a rescue disk and take a backup.  Verify it.  Then label the rescue disk and stash it away.

I keep notes and adjust the script as things change.  I know that is sad but the practice has saved me many hours of work!

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[280park]

Susan Bradley – Why exactly do you make these changes?

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by 280park.

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Its usefull to see file extensions.
For example, then you can see if there is some fraud in email attachment. Lets say, that someone sends you email, with “myfamily.jpeg” attached.
If you show file extensions, then you will see, that it really is “myfamily.jpeg.exe”
and you were targeted by an attacker.
File extensions in Windows are important (for me).

Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise

HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29

PRUSA i3 MK3S+

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IreneLinda, 280park, SueW, cmptrgy

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Until now I had been under the impression, apparently incorrectly, that not showing hidden files, folders, and drives and not showing file extensions were measures to decrease the risk of the computer being hacked.

Thanks doriel and Susan Bradley.

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280park wrote:

were measures to decrease the risk of the computer being hacked.

These were mainly measures to decrease the chance of users deleting system files.

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280park

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After the above recommendations, I create a user account without admin privileges and only use that account for normal day to day use.

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John Falk wrote:

After the above recommendations, I create a user account without admin privileges and only use that account for normal day to day use.

I have 2 admin accounts on my HP laptop as well as my Dell desktop along with a user account without admin privileges on each one.
— The reason for 2 admin accounts is if an issue on one of the admin accounts has a problem, the other admin account can be helpful in solving the admin accounts issue.
— I use the user account without admin privileges only once in a while.

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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