Win 10, My new Best Friend

I think I have found my second favorite operating system! In this ongoing post, I want to share some tips and tricks that will enhance your love for this new gem from Microsoft. (No, I don't work for Microsoft)

Tip #1: Disable Cortana Web Search

Okay, so Cortana is supposed to be this "Ms. Smartypants" when it comes to your likes and dislikes. She also searches the web for you when you have the need to find something. Cortana is just a little bit too eager to search for things on the internet when I really just want her to find the stuff I've already put onto my PC.

I am a fan of Ubuntu 14. The taskbar in Ubuntu will allow you to do a soft search for any app in your pc by pressing the "Window" key on your keyboard. To emulate this with Cortana in Win 10, just disable her Web Search capability (She happens to be much more useful in this mode).

To disable the Web Search feature, just go to your firewall settings:

1. Go to Control Panel by right clicking on the "Start Menu" icon in the lower left on the taskbar and select "Control Panel"
2. If you view by category, select Network and Internet, then on the left, select System and Security.
3. Select Windows Firewall
4. Select Advanced Settings
5. In the new window, select, Outbound Rules and wait for it to load
6. Look for a single rule called "Search", right click on the rule, and select Properties
7. In the Action grouping at the bottom, select "Block the connection"

Be warned however, you will no longer be able to search the internet via Cortana, however, she will default to finding things on your computer.